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Emily Harjehausen-Dobbins
Being an adopted child, it is always hard to answer the doctor's question when they asked, "Do you have any illnesses that run in the family?" You
never realize how important that information is until you really need it.
At a GYN appointment in September of 2000, I asked to be put on a birth control pill. She had no problem writing me a prescription, and I started taking
in a few days later on a Sunday.
On that Tuesday, I woke up and my calf felt like I had been doing 200 lb. calf raises at the gym. It was so sore, and I constantly felt like I needed to
stretch it out. When I told my mom about it over the phone (since I was at college), she told me to read the side effects of the pills because she thought
it could possibly be a blood clot. So of course I called my doctor, who didn't call me back for 5 hours, and she told me to go to the Emergency Room.
Everyone has their Emergency Room horror stories, but mine wasn't bad, and sure enough, I had a superficial venous thrombosis. Not knowing the difference
in the different types of clots, I am SO thankful now it wasn't a DVT. The clot went from my knee all the way down to my ankle. In certain light you could
actually see it. He put me on Ecotrin and told me to put hot packs on it every few hours. And…it went away with no problems.
I followed up with my GYN and an internist, and neither of them thought to test me for anything. Don't you think that would be strange for a healthy 20-year
old to get a big clot? Anyway, I really didn't think anything of it again until three years later my husband and I found out we were pregnant.
When I went in for my first office visit after taking a pregnancy test, I told my new GYN that I had a clot before. Well, she freaked out and sent me for
the blood tests. And for those of you who have had the blood work done, you know how many vials they fill up - that was my first time every having a butterfly
clip in since they were going to take so many, 12 if I remember right. Sure enough, the results came back and I was sent to an OB specialist named Ralph
Kehl.
Dr. Kehl informed me that I had what is called Factor V Leiden Mutation (I'm heterozygous). I was thinking, "What the heck is that?!" He told
me in detail what it was in laymen's terms, and the risks of it to the baby. I had to have low-dose Heparin shots twice a day in the stomach and a baby
aspirin once a day until 6 weeks after the baby was born. I was very nervous, but knew what I had to do to keep the baby and me safe.
During the pregnancy, I was a special case that had several ultrasounds and non-stress tests. Truthfully, I didn't mind them at all because who doesn't
love seeing their baby grow and listen to the heart beat. The shots were not fun, but I just kept thinking about the baby. My husband actually gave me
the shots most of the time. When I was 36 weeks pregnant, Dr. Kehl decided to make me have 3 shots per day - so I had to do one at work. It was really
hard to find places on my big rotund belly to keep injecting the shots.
But, on June 2, 2004, I naturally delivered a healthy 8 lb. 7 oz. baby girl…and my OB thought I would have maybe a 6-7 pound baby. So women who
have FVL, there is the possibility to have a healthy pregnancy. But be rest assured that Sydney will be tested when she is older!
For maintenance, I just take a baby aspirin if I am going to go on long trips. And if we decide to have another baby, I will have to be sure to start the Heparin as soon as possible. I am so glad there is a Web site dedicated to FVL - it's great to know that is other people who have gone through similar situations.