David's story

In 2004 David was living in Hong Kong when he experienced his first deep-vein thrombosis (a blood clot). He had noticed his calf was swollen and upon the advice of his wife, he decided to go to the hospital. After being injected with blood thinners and discharged from hospital, David was on medication for six months.

Four years later, David experienced trouble breathing, pain across his chest and back and was coughing up blood. He ignored his symptoms and went to work and the gym that day, thinking it would pass. That night, his symptoms became more severe and early the following morning he was admitted to the emergency department.

After chest x-rays, he was referred to a respiratory specialist, who diagnosed him with bronchitis. That night, David’s condition continued to deteriorate, when his wife returned in the morning, she demanded the doctor perform a CT scan. The CT scan confirmed that David had a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in his lungs.

“I had a level of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and it took a while for me to regain confidence in my health, as well as regaining my trust in medical specialists.” David 

David was again injected with blood thinners, and after being discharged from hospital was put on medication for a further 12 months.

“I would also like to acknowledge and support the outstanding work of Dr. Baker and The Perth Blood Institute initiative, and the advances being made in the care of people with blood disorders.” David

After his health scares, David and his family moved back to Perth to lead a healthier and balanced life, contributing to him regaining his trust in medical specialists. Since returning to Perth in 2010, David continued to be under the care of Dr Baker for many more years. He now partakes in a preventative regime to reduce the risk of another blood clot.