Age 21, the height of summer and coming to the end of my second year at drama school - I had everything to live for and everything I had always wanted. I was living in London, surrounded by a great group of friends and an amazing family... developing Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in my left leg was never part of the plan.

With a leg the size of a tree trunk and unable to place any weight on my left leg, I was turned away from A&E because there was no reason I should have developed a DVT. I was  young, fit, healthy, a non- smoker and rarely drank alcohol so how could I possibly have a blood clot?

24 hours later after multiple ultrasounds, blood tests and scans it was confirmed I had developed a large DVT that practically covered around a third of my body, heading straight in the direction of my heart - off to theatre I went.

I was thrombolised immediately and spent 72 hours completely bed bound with every tube and wire you could imagine entering and exiting my body. Thrombolysis is a treatment used on life threatening blood clots to dissolve the clot in the body with the hope of the clot not being able to travel to vital organs. I had a venogram each day and each venogram confirmed the clot had not dissolved. I had exceeded the recommended time to have this treatment and was told there were fears of being unable to rid my body of the clot with the potential of never being able to walk again -desperate times called for desperate measures.

On the fourth day, I was rushed back to theatre for surgeons to carry out a procedure which they quite openly told me they had never done before - it was worth a try! 8 hours of surgery which involved an electrode going through the back of my knee and attracting the blood clot to be drawn out of my body - sounds grim and gory eh? I was wide awake for the WHOLE thing 💪🏻 

From a procedure where they hoped for 75% clearance of the clot, I found out later that day that those incredible surgeons, consultants, nurses, support workers and doctors had managed to clear 100% and freed me of the deadly clot!

All of this work is as a result of the work from the British Heart Foundation and because of this wonderful charity, I am still here to tell my tale and it’s time more people were able to tell theirs!

We have lost vital members of our family as a result of heart disease and stroke which has left our family missing some of its strongest links. 

My challenge is a miniscule task in comparison to the work the BHF carry out on a daily basis. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and any donation will be hugely appreciated!

THANK YOU!

Stacey 💖