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There's something so poignant about intuition and the indescribable instincts we sometimes
feel before pivotal moments in our lives.

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And he said, Mom, I can't breathe.

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My husband was driving and two was in the back seat.

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And I noticed him start slumping over and I jumped in the back seat.

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Our deeper connectedness is recognized in a flash by the events to come.

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What do you do when a worst case scenario

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becomes your reality.

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And by the time we arrived at the hospital, Kristine pretty much told me that he was gone.

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Every six minutes, somebody in America dies of a blood clot.

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We're here to change that statistic.

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Welcome to Taking a Breath, a stop the clot podcast.

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A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness of the dangers of blood clots from the clotting
disorders community to the world.

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With the help of many notable blood clot survivors, we are here to give you the knowledge
and the skills that you need.

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to prevent this silent killer.

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My name is Leslie Lake.

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I am the president of the National Blood Clot Alliance, and I am a blood clot survivor.

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And my name is Todd Robertson.

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I am the patient engagement liaison for the National Blood Clot Alliance, and I am a
seven-time blood clot survivor.

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And we're here to stop the clot.

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We regularly talk on this show about the most emotionally impossible situations.

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The near death of a clotting event, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a child.

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Though we can't go back and undo what's been done, we can move forward and create lasting
and impactful change for those experiencing similarly difficult realities.

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Our guests today shine that joyful resonance through communities across the world.

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founders of the Devereux Hubbard II Foundation for blood clot awareness and faith leaders
of their local community, our guests enrich people's lives day in and day out.

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Here to discuss their son, Devereux Hubbard II, known lovingly in life and in legacy as
two, this is Devereux and Kristi Hubbard.

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My name is Christy Hubbard.

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I'm excited today to be able to share our story in hopes to help save lives.

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I am the wife of Deverell Hubbard, 32 years today.

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That's pretty exciting for us.

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And the mom of Deverell Hubbard II, who worked for a blood clot, would be 30 years old.

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And I'm Deverell Hubbard, Christy's husband, obviously.

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and father of Deborah the second as well as father of Drew Hubbard and father of Dawson
Hubbard.

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So other two biological children and then a whole bunch of other children who call us mom
and dad.

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We jokingly always called him the gentle giant.

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He was born almost 10 pounds.

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So he's knew a day in his life where he wasn't a big kid, a big fella, but more like a
teddy bear.

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Even though by high school, because he played football, he called himself the Hulk because
outside of the football field, he was gentle and calm and sweet.

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but once he hit the football field, he put it on.

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He was one of those kids who was literally easy to raise.

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I mean, he liked watching movies.

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He was a people person.

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As long as we joked, as long as he had some corn, that was his favorite food.

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He was good to go.

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And into this day, even though he's been gone for almost 11 years, it'll be 11 years this
December,

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We still run into people, former teachers, former coaches, his former classmates, who
remind us of times where he did something or said something, you know, to make their day.

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He was a very compassionate person.

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And I was asked just recently, would he be proud of the work we're doing?

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And I was able to say, I know he would be, and he would not be surprised because he was a
person.

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who even as a high schooler understood the value of helping others.

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I think it's important to highlight you was a leader in every sense of the word.

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You modeled what he expected as a football player, as an Eagle Scout.

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And we constantly heard that as well, just his influence upon the lives of people based on
his example and leadership.

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One of the greatest stories for me as a father was

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one of his coaches sharing how our son, Lilly, challenged him to be a better man.

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So that was, I think, a testament to just his leadership as a young man and the impact and
influence that he had.

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And he was a regular kid, a teenager, because he didn't break a lot of rules or anything
like that.

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But, you know, had to yell at him all the time about keeping his room clean, you know, all
of those typical things.

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about studying and not just doing enough to get by, you know.

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He was a great son and obviously a good friend because again, some of his friends from
middle school and high school still keep up with us.

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Call us, check on us, you know, all the things.

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Well, he was a sophomore in college.

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was first semester, second year.

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He was at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

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We didn't talk to him every day.

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mean, you know, college kid having a great time doing what he did.

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It was final exams that he wasn't feeling well.

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Wasn't sure what was going on, but he was like, yeah, but I'll be fine.

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I'll get through finals and get home.

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And so all he generally said was that he wasn't feeling well.

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So we knew.

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that part.

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He did finish up final exams, best that he could apparently, and then came home with his
best friend, Taylor Johnson, who he was best friends with since they were literally born.

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We jokingly called them twins.

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She drove home and she did let us know that the whole ride home, he was pretty much just
kind of out of it.

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It was December.

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And it was a pretty cold December, December 2013.

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And we all just kind of assumed cold, because it was general cold-like flu symptoms.

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The night they got home, it was a Friday night, he was just like, yeah, I'm good.

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I'm just going to go to bed.

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And so I was like, OK.

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And then the next day, we did our normal kind of get up, you know, college kids, sleep in.

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And we expected that.

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And when he did get up, he just he talked about, you know, just feeling pretty yucky.

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He did tell us that he had thrown up during the night.

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But again, at that point, it's a Saturday, I'm calling the ER just to think do I need to
bring him in.

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And I was told, it's the middle of the winter, it's flu-like symptoms, keep him hydrated,
make an appointment with your doctor on Monday morning.

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And he just didn't really get better.

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He got up and he got dressed and he actually had some friends come over.

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But he was still kind of lethargic.

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I called the emergency room again and I was generally told the exact same thing that it's,
you know, it's the middle of the winter.

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You're telling us that he's home from college.

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He's probably got some virus or something.

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Keep him hydrated and best things you probably do is make an appointment with your doctor.

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So as a family, we just were like, okay, well, you know, he laid on the couch.

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We kept our eyes on him, all of that.

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Sunday morning, the rest of us got up to go to church and he was like, y'all, don't have
it in me.

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Can I just stay home?

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Because we go to church in the house.

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we're like, yeah, you're fine.

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Go, you know, get you some rest.

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That Sunday afternoon, we watched football like we always kind of do.

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Again, he was lethargic, but we were still thinking flu-like symptoms.

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had the flu.

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Later on that Sunday evening, after everybody had gone to bed, I went down to his room,
because his room was in the basement, to just tell him good night and to check on him.

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And he said, Mom, I can't breathe.

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And at that point, I was like, no, we're going to the emergency room.

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I woke my husband up, and two couldn't get up the stairs by himself.

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So my husband pretty much carried him up the stairs.

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And again, he was a pretty big boy.

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And we were on our way to the emergency room.

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I was in the front seat.

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My husband was driving and two was in the back seat.

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And I noticed Tim start slumping over and I jumped in the back seat.

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I began CPR and my husband called 911.

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Ambulance service fire department met us on the side of the road.

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They moved him from our car to the ambulance.

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Christie rode with them and then I...

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followed.

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And by the time we arrived at the hospital, Kristy pretty much told me that he was gone.

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But the doctors were doing everything they could.

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They were doing their part.

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They were applying everything they were taught to do.

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And then they later came in and communicated that he had transitioned.

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So as it relates to the signs and symptoms and things of that nature, we really didn't
connect any of the dots.

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It wasn't until after his death and the coroner communicating to us what was the cause of
his death that then our, then the children's pediatrician reached out to us to share,

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I want to recommend that the other two children go in to get tested to see if you have any
kind of trait that contributes towards blood clots.

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So that was our first awareness of blood clots and traits, hereditary, that can contribute
toward that.

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So it just, it started us down a road.

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Then once we started learning about blood clots, then we started hearing stories.

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So Taylor is friends.

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mentioned, he did complain about his calf hurting a few days before we came home.

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You know, he was struggling to breathe a little bit.

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Once we started becoming aware of blood clot, we were connecting the dots of, he was
experiencing these signs along the way, but we didn't know.

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So we didn't know to communicate to the emergency personnel we call the hospital.

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of, you know, not only is he lethargic, but he's having problems with his cat.

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We just didn't know to be able to help them to respond differently to the concern that we
had.

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So we didn't know anything as far as signs, symptoms, to be able to advocate for our son,
to talk with an informed understanding with expectations from emergency staff.

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And I think that was the greatest frustration as we talked to, you know, the doctors.

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We later discovered I have Factor V light.

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My youngest son has Factor V light.

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But as we talked to our doctor, Dr.

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Tarantino, his communication was most people would survive blood clots if they knew the
signs of symptoms.

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We didn't know the signs of symptoms.

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And I think that was our greatest frustration.

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Obviously, the grief.

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frustration of losing a child, but just the fact that we should have been able to be
knowledgeable, to be able to provide a little more help to our side.

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think it's been the burden for us.

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Well, I would say it began as a result of us being the type of family that we're like,
okay, we don't know how we got here or why we got here, but we got to do something with

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this.

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We're not just going to sit in this pain.

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You know, we

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We can't stop what again, what has happened to us, but we're determined, you know, to help
other people.

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So we literally sat around with, as Devereaux mentioned in the beginning of our
conversation, our younger two biological children and then our godchildren.

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And we were like, what can we do to get this information out to help people?

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And thus the DH2, Devereaux Hubbard Second Foundation was born literally around our
kitchen table,

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tears and tissue and snot and what are we gonna do?

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As I was researching information, just trying to learn as much as I can, I came across the
National Blood Clot Alliance website.

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And as I came across the website, I noticed that they supported and encouraged family in
doing a 5K walk to educate people.

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So as we talked about forming a foundation,

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We had our first walk that spring of 2014, that August of 2014, because I read the website
like, hey, we have this organization.

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They have kind of a turnkey support system of putting on the 5K, let's do it.

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So they really helped us initially just to think about, okay, where do we start?

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How do we organize and what do we share?

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So we just followed the template that was laid out.

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for our first event, which was in August of 2014.

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And since then, we've watched everything that takes place.

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And so we've done what we call the hustle and flow during March, because March is Blood,
Cloud, Awareness Month.

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So again, the concept of getting people moving, keeping yourselves healthy, and knowing
the information.

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So every event we've done, whether it's

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You know, like I said, the hustle and flow, the 5K, what we call our run, walk or trot,
because again, we want everybody to be able to participate.

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It's been all about getting the information, sharing the information and being your own
health care advocate.

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I think since then, each year, what we find is people share their story and how what we're
doing is helping as we continue a relationship with Dr.

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Tarantino and his office, BCDI, here locally.

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He's constantly sharing with us that we are making an impact.

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They're hearing it from people calling their office as patients.

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And as we continue to evolve, I think our

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growing challenge was this is great, but how do we do more?

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We're a small family foundation.

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You know, we don't have a lot of people resources to get things done, but how do we do
more?

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So that's when we decided this year in celebration of our 10 years to do a gala as a
fundraiser event.

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And we were able to have a conversation with our local hospital entity.

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Just to be able to say, hey, we want to educate people more on size of symptoms of blood
clots.

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We realize we're limited.

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We're hoping to raise this much money at our gala.

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We're hoping to have at least 20,000 to be able to contribute.

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Wouldn't you be willing to partner with us to leverage your entity and facilities to
create information so that it's available within your facilities?

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Think that nature.

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The conversation turned out better than I expected.

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Keith Knapp, the president of the West Region of Carle Health, talked through it with me
and he provided information to share, you know, hey, as a doctor, we normally do what's

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normal and based on what we see most often.

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So even as clinician, we will overlook syringes and symptoms of blood clots because we
don't see it that often.

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So he threw out in the conversation of, yeah, we want to make sure we educate.

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patient, but we also want to add some form of reminders for our clinicians and staff so
that they're aware.

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So that's led to us beginning a partnership between our foundation, Dr.

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Tarantino's office, DCDI, and the Carle Health West Region hospitals, which made up of
three hospitals and a number of different offices where they will partner with their team.

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to create the resources and then disseminate that information throughout all of their
facilities and with their staff, just to make sure that we can now raise the bar on

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educating people.

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Because we were telling them, we don't want people to find out when they enter into a
crisis.

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If they're sitting in a waiting room with their family member for, you know, getting
physical therapy, we want them to be able to see something in the waiting room.

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that will give them the information prior to needing the information so that when they
need it, they already have access to it.

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So we're excited about that partnership.

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And you have made an indelible impression on everyone.

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especially our mayor.

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Yes, Jackson.

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you know, one of the things that I was so struck by when I was at the event was it was for
some people listening to them talk about too, was like they just talked to him yesterday.

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You know, like it was just so...

207
00:19:03,342 --> 00:19:05,522
Like it just, he was just here.

208
00:19:05,522 --> 00:19:14,242
the now sometimes things fade with time and that was not what came across at your event.

209
00:19:14,242 --> 00:19:17,402
So I thought that was really beautiful actually.

210
00:19:17,462 --> 00:19:27,022
So I also wanna talk about a few things, which is, and you just said it really well that
this is bigger than just one person.

211
00:19:27,022 --> 00:19:30,382
This is all of us having to work together.

212
00:19:30,946 --> 00:19:35,899
And you're right, because there's this misconception that it only happens to old people.

213
00:19:35,899 --> 00:19:40,531
And that is so far from the truth.

214
00:19:40,792 --> 00:19:51,437
And so we have to do a better job of sharing, you know, two story and other people's
stories so that people understand that this doesn't happen to old people.

215
00:19:51,878 --> 00:19:58,982
But we also know that the data around the black community is way worse than it is for
others.

216
00:19:59,102 --> 00:20:02,243
especially for Caucasians.

217
00:20:02,363 --> 00:20:13,166
And so I want to talk about how, you you're dealing with raising awareness, but you're
also raising awareness within the black community, your leaders in the community.

218
00:20:14,226 --> 00:20:19,888
How does that influence what you share, how you educate people about this?

219
00:20:20,188 --> 00:20:26,110
And how can we collectively do a better job about reaching people in the black community?

220
00:20:26,110 --> 00:20:27,616
No, great question.

221
00:20:27,616 --> 00:20:31,207
I think about it from an umbrella of trust.

222
00:20:31,267 --> 00:20:38,329
think for many within the black community, it's a historically trust.

223
00:20:38,329 --> 00:20:50,102
There is limited trust with the medical community, limited trust that their voices will be
heard, limited trust that what they communicate, they believe is taking place in their

224
00:20:50,102 --> 00:20:56,454
body will be received well and that people will respond appropriately.

225
00:20:57,262 --> 00:21:08,942
So one of the ways specifically as a black male that I've worked to address that is
referring people to people that I trust.

226
00:21:09,422 --> 00:21:19,992
So challenging each year around November, I do no shave November to challenge me and, you
know, as it relates to prostate exams, things of that nature.

227
00:21:19,992 --> 00:21:23,172
But then I take it as an overall umbrella.

228
00:21:23,172 --> 00:21:25,486
So a part of my conversation.

229
00:21:25,486 --> 00:21:30,266
on a continual basis is, okay, when's the last time you've seen your doctor?

230
00:21:30,266 --> 00:21:40,086
If you don't have a doctor, let's talk about you getting a doctor because your physical
health is going to impact everything about your life.

231
00:21:40,886 --> 00:21:46,506
And really work to partner to say, okay, here are some doctors I know you can trust.

232
00:21:46,506 --> 00:21:54,516
there are a number of men specifically that I share a doctor with because I referred them
to my doctor, right?

233
00:21:54,516 --> 00:22:01,192
And the same with, you know, when we talk about bleeding and clotting, you know, issues.

234
00:22:01,192 --> 00:22:02,913
We have a number of people within our church.

235
00:22:02,913 --> 00:22:08,137
We have a great cancer support network within the life of our church.

236
00:22:08,257 --> 00:22:16,804
And they do a great job talking about the potential for blood clots and then making the
connection.

237
00:22:16,804 --> 00:22:24,490
So they have a sister that they support each other, but then making the connection to
various doctors that they trust.

238
00:22:24,622 --> 00:22:33,444
So I think for us, that's really where we're seeing an impact be made, whereas we have the
broader conversation.

239
00:22:33,565 --> 00:22:36,946
Come back to we understand it's an issue of trust.

240
00:22:36,946 --> 00:22:39,446
That you want to feel your value.

241
00:22:39,446 --> 00:22:45,418
You want to feel it though they're concerned about you as a person as you go into the
doctor's office.

242
00:22:45,418 --> 00:22:50,710
So here are people and places that we know will treat you with respect.

243
00:22:51,636 --> 00:22:56,558
once they do that, we just want to encourage you to have conversations with other people
encouraging them to do the same.

244
00:22:56,558 --> 00:23:08,323
So I think that's one of the ways that we're seeing success, having the conversation of,
we understand, especially for older members of the black community who are in their

245
00:23:08,323 --> 00:23:09,333
seventies, right?

246
00:23:09,333 --> 00:23:20,162
Who have experienced so many things where they have not been valued and respected, just
affirming, hey, we know your experience is your experience.

247
00:23:20,162 --> 00:23:27,664
We can't deny that, but we just want you to know that in many spaces, things have changed.

248
00:23:27,784 --> 00:23:34,246
And we can't speak for everyone, but there are some people we can speak for and make
recommendations based on that.

249
00:23:34,246 --> 00:23:40,018
So that's one of the ways I think we're seeing success operating from a place of trust.

250
00:23:40,018 --> 00:23:49,310
So we invite doctors in, we invite entities and mental health professionals in because we
realize if they don't trust them.

251
00:23:49,582 --> 00:23:52,964
And oftentimes they're going just based on our word.

252
00:23:52,964 --> 00:23:54,925
Like, hey, you're my pastor.

253
00:23:54,925 --> 00:24:01,068
If you say I should go here, I'm going to go here because I trust you more than I trust
them.

254
00:24:01,369 --> 00:24:04,390
So just trying to lean into that space of trust.

255
00:24:04,611 --> 00:24:17,122
As well as I would say, BCDI, which of course you met and we partnered with a lot, told us
several years ago that because of our faces,

256
00:24:17,122 --> 00:24:22,444
they've been able to get in front of groups that they haven't been able to get in front of
before.

257
00:24:22,444 --> 00:24:36,607
So we embrace that, we partner with them, and we understand, just like Devereux just said,
why many people in the black community don't trust the medical community.

258
00:24:36,607 --> 00:24:39,068
So we're willing to be the face.

259
00:24:39,068 --> 00:24:41,969
We're willing to be the ones that open the door.

260
00:24:41,969 --> 00:24:46,430
We're willing to be the ones that call the meeting or create the event.

261
00:24:46,442 --> 00:24:54,085
of which African-Americans, blacks in our local community will come to, and then we're
able to make the connection.

262
00:24:54,085 --> 00:24:56,036
And we're willing to be the connectors.

263
00:24:56,036 --> 00:25:03,889
And again, for us, it boils down to not wanting to see anybody else suffer.

264
00:25:03,889 --> 00:25:12,743
But we understand why, you know, people are not necessarily their best own, you know,
advocates for their health, because they don't think people will believe them, they don't

265
00:25:12,743 --> 00:25:15,426
think people will listen, as well as,

266
00:25:15,426 --> 00:25:27,537
you know, something as going to the emergency room or even if you are really, really,
really sick, refusing to get in an ambulance because at end of the day, you're barely

267
00:25:27,537 --> 00:25:28,638
paying your bills.

268
00:25:28,638 --> 00:25:33,342
So, you know, adding a medical expense is like, I'll be okay.

269
00:25:33,342 --> 00:25:43,030
So one of the other things that's important to us is trying to make sure people understand
that there are ways to get these things covered so that

270
00:25:43,030 --> 00:25:46,452
you can get the medical help that you need and deserve.

271
00:25:46,452 --> 00:25:47,893
So we're willing to do that as well.

272
00:25:47,893 --> 00:25:49,133
We're willing to be the face.

273
00:25:49,133 --> 00:25:52,245
We're willing to be the connector for us at the end of the day.

274
00:25:52,245 --> 00:25:55,757
We're willing to do whatever it takes to help save lives.

275
00:25:55,757 --> 00:25:56,157
Yeah.

276
00:25:56,157 --> 00:26:10,115
And I'll add, we have, I think another thing that helped is we have a number of medical
professionals within our church who serve as translators to some degree where people are

277
00:26:10,115 --> 00:26:12,776
like, yeah, I don't know what they're really saying.

278
00:26:13,346 --> 00:26:24,114
And so they're like, okay, well, next time you go, feel free to call me, give them
permission for me to listen in, and then I'll share with you what they're saying to make

279
00:26:24,114 --> 00:26:27,176
sure you understand so that you can make an informed decision.

280
00:26:27,176 --> 00:26:33,686
So that's been helpful for us as well, because sometimes the people are just embarrassed
to say, I don't know the terms they're using.

281
00:26:33,686 --> 00:26:36,603
I don't understand what they're talking about, right?

282
00:26:36,603 --> 00:26:41,005
So to be able to connect them with nurses within our community,

283
00:26:41,656 --> 00:26:45,129
just to say, okay, here's what they're talking about, here's what this means.

284
00:26:45,129 --> 00:26:48,446
And then they can convey it in a way that's relatable to them.

285
00:26:48,446 --> 00:26:51,434
I said, okay, why didn't they just say that?

286
00:26:54,117 --> 00:27:06,728
And honestly, yeah, we have some nurses who are phenomenal and they just come alongside
and help our people understand what's going on with them.

287
00:27:06,728 --> 00:27:09,356
That's actually a great idea that

288
00:27:09,356 --> 00:27:20,659
the translators, which everybody could benefit from because it is confusing and there's
too many words to describe it and there's so many different signs and symptoms related to

289
00:27:20,659 --> 00:27:21,140
it.

290
00:27:21,140 --> 00:27:23,322
And I love that idea.

291
00:27:23,322 --> 00:27:25,885
think that's absolutely brilliant.

292
00:27:28,802 --> 00:27:32,030
The Illinois legislation I want to come back to for a second.

293
00:27:34,178 --> 00:27:36,078
We're not gonna take this anymore.

294
00:27:37,319 --> 00:27:39,579
We are not gonna take this anymore.

295
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:47,962
So I am tired of waiting for DC, you are tired of waiting for DC and while we're waiting
for DC to get their act together, we're gonna take this to the states.

296
00:27:48,562 --> 00:27:51,383
And so for, and it's hard, right?

297
00:27:51,383 --> 00:27:52,543
It's hard.

298
00:27:52,598 --> 00:27:54,664
I mean, I'm sure you guys are like this.

299
00:27:54,664 --> 00:28:00,940
I have days where I've got tens of energy and then I've got days where I'm I'm sick of
this.

300
00:28:00,940 --> 00:28:03,011
You know, tired, right?

301
00:28:03,011 --> 00:28:04,452
It takes a lot of energy.

302
00:28:04,452 --> 00:28:13,409
But for somebody who's listening to us in this podcast and has experiences that has lost a
family member or a friend, what do you say to them?

303
00:28:13,409 --> 00:28:14,509
They're in a different state.

304
00:28:14,509 --> 00:28:15,690
How can they get involved?

305
00:28:15,690 --> 00:28:18,862
Like talk to us about your experience.

306
00:28:18,862 --> 00:28:21,684
I think just initiating the conversation.

307
00:28:21,804 --> 00:28:30,380
Initiating the conversation with your various representatives within the community and
initiating the conversation with

308
00:28:30,380 --> 00:28:34,313
multiple representatives within the community.

309
00:28:34,894 --> 00:28:41,539
Just to say, you know, I, I'm aware that we, to my knowledge, we don't have a legislation
in this place.

310
00:28:41,539 --> 00:28:43,231
What are your thoughts around that?

311
00:28:43,231 --> 00:28:51,547
Is this something that you would be willing to dialogue and discuss with others and for us
to begin to work together?

312
00:28:52,389 --> 00:28:59,384
I think initiating the conversation with the expectation that as, as a representative of
the

313
00:28:59,384 --> 00:29:04,716
community of this state, we expect you to be concerned about the people.

314
00:29:04,916 --> 00:29:08,378
And this is impacting your constituency.

315
00:29:08,778 --> 00:29:14,101
So since it's impacting your constituency, then this should be a priority for you.

316
00:29:14,101 --> 00:29:25,546
I understand you have a whole bunch of other things, but beginning the conversation and
then beginning to see who potentially would weigh in.

317
00:29:25,546 --> 00:29:27,026
For us, it helps.

318
00:29:27,170 --> 00:29:39,219
that we have relationship with our state rep, you know, prior to initiating the
conversation, but we also have great relationship with our local director of our health

319
00:29:39,219 --> 00:29:40,490
department, right?

320
00:29:40,490 --> 00:29:41,921
So that helps as well.

321
00:29:41,921 --> 00:29:47,685
now because of relationship and when you say, Hey, this person is on board as well.

322
00:29:48,166 --> 00:29:54,730
So being able to build relationships, again, understanding that it can't be done by one
person.

323
00:29:54,744 --> 00:29:58,755
but it's gonna take a collaboration of people working together.

324
00:29:58,856 --> 00:30:07,199
So initiate the conversation, see who leans into the conversation and go with the going
crowd, right?

325
00:30:07,199 --> 00:30:15,503
So there are people who didn't choose for whatever reason to get on board, don't get
bogged down with them.

326
00:30:15,503 --> 00:30:17,423
Hey, that's their choice.

327
00:30:17,464 --> 00:30:23,446
Those who get on board, move forward with them and create the momentum that you need.

328
00:30:23,446 --> 00:30:32,133
and what I find, especially in the political space, very few politicians want to see
things moving forward without them.

329
00:30:33,674 --> 00:30:45,524
And I would also like to jump in and say, I am a person that likes to talk to people a lot
about local power because there's so much power in what's happening right here at home.

330
00:30:45,524 --> 00:30:51,099
It's a blessing for us to be able to partner with National Blood Clot Association.

331
00:30:51,099 --> 00:30:51,909
It's great.

332
00:30:51,909 --> 00:30:53,304
Alliance, I'm sorry.

333
00:30:53,304 --> 00:31:00,380
but we also have to be able to have the conversations with local organizations right here
in Peoria.

334
00:31:00,380 --> 00:31:07,205
And that's why we try to make ourselves available to the local things that are taking
place.

335
00:31:07,205 --> 00:31:10,278
And just like you said, we're sick of waiting on DC.

336
00:31:10,278 --> 00:31:17,093
We're gonna keep fighting the good fight, but we've got to acknowledge the power that we
have right here at home.

337
00:31:17,093 --> 00:31:18,835
And that's what we're focusing on.

338
00:31:18,835 --> 00:31:19,715
Yeah.

339
00:31:19,876 --> 00:31:23,258
So I'd like to say to people who are listening to us,

340
00:31:23,850 --> 00:31:25,871
The three of us have gone through this, right?

341
00:31:25,871 --> 00:31:30,713
We've been working on legislation at the state level and we've had some success.

342
00:31:30,713 --> 00:31:32,294
We need to have more.

343
00:31:32,654 --> 00:31:35,555
If you've got a question, call us up.

344
00:31:35,555 --> 00:31:36,796
Look us up.

345
00:31:36,796 --> 00:31:49,881
We're there to support you, but grassroots, local builds a national revolution and we just
have to keep pushing this along on a state by state, city by city, county by county,

346
00:31:49,881 --> 00:31:51,022
whatever it is.

347
00:31:51,534 --> 00:31:53,694
to continue to build awareness.

348
00:31:53,694 --> 00:31:58,954
And Christy, you actually touched upon something that I think is really important that
most people don't realize.

349
00:31:58,954 --> 00:32:07,214
We don't actually know how many people are getting blood clots because it's not tracked
the way it is for other diseases and disorders.

350
00:32:07,214 --> 00:32:12,944
There's no money, state or federal, that is actually put towards this problem.

351
00:32:12,944 --> 00:32:21,182
And so these numbers that we throw out, 100,000 people a year die, 900,000 people get one,
it's way too low.

352
00:32:21,900 --> 00:32:27,194
You cannot, if you talk about this, find somebody who has not been impacted somehow.

353
00:32:27,194 --> 00:32:34,560
The person who delivered a fruit arrangement to your house, losing his daughter.

354
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:38,433
Every single day of my life, I meet somebody that has been touched by blood clots.

355
00:32:38,433 --> 00:32:42,667
And so I think it shows how big this problem is.

356
00:32:42,667 --> 00:32:47,911
We don't even really know yet how big it is, but it's huge and it's growing.

357
00:32:48,031 --> 00:32:52,054
So for whatever reason, I mean, I'm a survivor and I'm lucky.

358
00:32:52,206 --> 00:32:53,896
I wish two was with us here today.

359
00:32:53,896 --> 00:33:05,906
I wish we weren't having this conversation together, but you're channeling this and we're
for whatever reason, I don't know if God's elect us and said, you guys need to fix this

360
00:33:05,906 --> 00:33:06,906
problem, but here we are.

361
00:33:06,906 --> 00:33:10,006
And I want to thank you for trying to fix this problem.

362
00:33:10,086 --> 00:33:12,586
Yeah, it's a privilege in life.

363
00:33:12,586 --> 00:33:18,826
You can't change what's been done, but you can make an impact going forward.

364
00:33:19,506 --> 00:33:21,670
And I believe the

365
00:33:22,638 --> 00:33:25,958
Sometimes pain serves as a catalyst.

366
00:33:26,038 --> 00:33:38,858
And I think our pain then our catalysts to say, impact are we gonna make so that more and
more families are staying because of the partnerships that you established.

367
00:33:38,858 --> 00:33:43,118
I'm able to hug my child, my grandchildren, my wife, my husband.

368
00:33:43,118 --> 00:33:46,518
And I think for me, that's what keeps me going.

369
00:33:46,518 --> 00:33:48,258
Just knowing that it's worth it.

370
00:33:48,258 --> 00:33:50,246
It really is worth

371
00:33:50,734 --> 00:34:03,314
So we appreciate your partnership, your encouragement, this opportunity to share our story
and that's going to have an impact near, succumb beyond any of our imagination.

372
00:34:03,314 --> 00:34:05,242
So I just encourage you to keep pressing.

373
00:34:05,242 --> 00:34:05,852
Thank you.

374
00:34:05,852 --> 00:34:14,367
And I think we're all here because we don't want other people to experience what we have
experienced because they don't have to.

375
00:34:14,427 --> 00:34:20,550
Anyway, I want to thank both of you for joining today and sharing to story and

376
00:34:20,716 --> 00:34:24,901
your time and love and energy and effort to combat this with us.

377
00:34:24,901 --> 00:34:26,124
So thank you.

378
00:34:26,146 --> 00:34:27,379
Absolutely.

379
00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:40,453
We want to thank Devereaux and Christie one more time for being here today and sharing
their journey and Two's legacy as they continue to spread awareness on the dangers of

380
00:34:40,453 --> 00:34:41,633
blood clots.

381
00:34:41,793 --> 00:34:47,215
Thank you for joining us here today on another episode of Taking a Breath.

382
00:34:47,295 --> 00:34:54,857
For more information on risks, prevention, and community, please visit StopTheClot.org.

383
00:34:54,997 --> 00:34:58,338
We know the patient because we are the patient.

384
00:34:58,338 --> 00:35:03,333
Together, with listeners like you, can collectively stop the clock.

385
00:35:16,921 --> 00:35:19,855
another Everything Podcasts production.

386
00:35:21,218 --> 00:35:25,885
Visit everythingpodcasts.com, a division of Patterson Media.

387
00:35:25,885 --> 00:35:28,528
Subscribe wherever you get your podcast.