SHANE’S STORY

While Shane was taking the oral contraceptive, Yasmin, an almost unnoticed swelling in her left thigh turned out to be a “deep vein thrombosis (blood clot), which traveled to her lung causing a life-threatening pulmonary embolism, (blood clot in the lungs).

Quick action saved her life. 

18 months later she became pregnant.  At about 16 weeks, when normal coagulopathy increases for all women, Shane began having unrelenting headaches.  This condition was eventually diagnosed as a CVT blood clot in the brain, (cerebral venous thrombosis).

She was hospitalized and received anticoagulation treatment which began to control the CVT, but this treatment was not enough to prevent the baby from being affected.  Unfortunately, none of Shane’s doctors realized the serious fetal risk.  Near the beginning of Shane’s 7th month, the baby died because of severe placental clotting.

A C-section surgery was performed during which Shane’s necessary blood-thinning medicine was discontinued for too long allowing the CVT to become massive causing her death.

Had Shane received a higher dose of blood-thinning medication from the beginning of her pregnancy, and had her doctors used fetal monitoring techniques designed to detect clotting in the placenta, it’s likely that both Shane and her baby would have survived.

A supposedly harmless contraceptive drug had initiated a blood clotting condition leading to a series of events that cost Shane her health, her child, and her life. 

She was 31. 

To read Shane’s full story and find critical information about the 3 pregnancy-related blood clotting conditions – click here.