Darren suffered his first experience with blood clots on April 12^th, 2015. Darren arrived at the hospital emergency department in a very bad way, even unable to speak. His wife had to explain to the staff that Darren had had a sore, swollen calf approximately 48 hours prior. They thought that these symptoms were the result of contact sport which Darren played a lot.  It didn’t take long for the doctors to diagnose him with a severe bilateral pulmonary embolism. The clot had broken off from the vein in his calf and lodged inside both of his lungs.

Following admission, Darren spent time in intensive care recovering. He explained that, when he was finally released, the greatest challenge was the physical effects resulting from the pulmonary embolism. He was unable to be as active as previously and found himself suffering from fatigue and similar side effects.

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Darren explained that he still struggles with motivation, fatigue, and frustration at not being able to do the physical activities that he could previously, but that he is coping with this fact and recovering as time goes by.