1 00:00:02,848 --> 00:00:10,901 In moments of loss, we do our best to be there for one another with love and comfort in navigating a world without. 2 00:00:11,438 --> 00:00:15,443 When I turned the corner to go see where my brother was at, I heard my mom behind me. 3 00:00:15,443 --> 00:00:17,524 said, he killed him. 4 00:00:17,965 --> 00:00:29,539 In the darkness of hindsight bias and the unimaginable pain of reiterating over and over the what ifs of the scenario, how do we find softness and forgive ourselves in the reality 5 00:00:29,539 --> 00:00:31,180 of immense grief? 6 00:00:31,663 --> 00:00:40,683 I looked at the doctor, they had tried to revive him, I'll never forget looking at the doctor and I told him, I said to him, said, what did you do? 7 00:00:46,828 --> 00:00:50,939 Every six minutes, somebody in America dies of a blood clot. 8 00:00:50,939 --> 00:00:53,960 Isn't it time people started to pay attention? 9 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,261 We're here to change that statistic. 10 00:00:56,261 --> 00:01:00,062 Welcome to Taking a Breath, a Stop the Clot podcast. 11 00:01:00,062 --> 00:01:08,724 An award-winning podcast dedicated to bringing awareness of the dangers of blood clots from the clotting disorders community to the world. 12 00:01:08,724 --> 00:01:16,626 With the help of many notable blood clot survivors, we are here to give you the knowledge and the skills you need to prevent this silent killer. 13 00:01:16,791 --> 00:01:18,593 My name is Leslie Lake. 14 00:01:18,593 --> 00:01:24,217 I am the volunteer president of the National Blood Clot Alliance, and I am a blood clot survivor. 15 00:01:24,217 --> 00:01:26,099 And my name is Todd Robertson. 16 00:01:26,099 --> 00:01:32,684 I am the patient engagement liaison for the National Blood Clot Alliance, and I am a seven-time blood clot survivor. 17 00:01:32,684 --> 00:01:35,246 And we're here to stop the clot. 18 00:01:39,706 --> 00:01:47,178 Sometimes the only way forward is navigating and carving a less treacherous path for those who are sure to follow. 19 00:01:47,538 --> 00:01:53,359 How do we use our experiences to make life a little easier for those yet to experience it? 20 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:56,419 Our guest today knows exactly that. 21 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:07,277 After the loss of his brother to a clotting event and experiencing several blood clots over several years himself, our guest understands the power of advocacy. 22 00:02:07,277 --> 00:02:10,760 and what systemic change means for the future of families everywhere. 23 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:16,676 Today, it is my pleasure to welcome someone who's making a difference day after day. 24 00:02:16,676 --> 00:02:20,579 This is Florida State Senator Chevron Jones. 25 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:23,820 My name is Chevron Jones. 26 00:02:23,820 --> 00:02:26,840 I am a blood clot survivor and I am happy to be here. 27 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:32,920 I represent the 34th Senate District here in the state of Florida and I look forward to this conversation. 28 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:38,940 I did not know initially what was going on back in 2009. 29 00:02:38,940 --> 00:02:45,960 I realized that it was, well, I at the gym, came back from the gym, got home, and I just realized that I couldn't breathe. 30 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:48,280 It was hard for me to catch my breath. 31 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,939 And so I'll never forget taking in a deep breath. 32 00:02:51,939 --> 00:02:57,234 and breathing out and I'm like, okay, well maybe that will help me get my breathing back at some type of rhythm. 33 00:02:57,234 --> 00:03:00,156 But it wasn't, it just wasn't working. 34 00:03:00,837 --> 00:03:03,079 I didn't go to the hospital right then. 35 00:03:03,079 --> 00:03:11,907 It wasn't until I felt like I was catching a cold and then my left leg started hurting me so bad. 36 00:03:11,907 --> 00:03:15,429 I swole up that evening and it was warm. 37 00:03:15,830 --> 00:03:19,893 And I remember telling my 38 00:03:19,985 --> 00:03:22,705 Now ex-wife, I don't feel too well. 39 00:03:22,705 --> 00:03:28,125 And we went to the emergency room, the doctor, he asked about my breathing. 40 00:03:28,125 --> 00:03:29,685 They took my oxygen level. 41 00:03:29,685 --> 00:03:33,945 My oxygen level was just a tad bit low, lower than normal. 42 00:03:34,045 --> 00:03:37,085 And so they said, let's get you in to do an MRI. 43 00:03:37,185 --> 00:03:39,185 They took me in to do an MRI. 44 00:03:39,185 --> 00:03:45,205 And when they did the full body scan and that's when they saw that I had a blood clot, it wasn't even an MRI. 45 00:03:45,205 --> 00:03:48,453 They did a sonogram of my legs. 46 00:03:48,453 --> 00:03:49,854 my groin and everything. 47 00:03:49,854 --> 00:03:51,595 And then that's when they saw the clot. 48 00:03:51,595 --> 00:03:56,627 And they immediately took me upstairs, put me on bed rest. 49 00:03:56,627 --> 00:03:58,059 I was in ICU unit. 50 00:03:58,059 --> 00:04:00,421 I'm like, why am going to the ICU unit? 51 00:04:00,421 --> 00:04:02,302 I feel perfectly fine. 52 00:04:02,382 --> 00:04:04,413 And the doctor was like, no, you're not fine. 53 00:04:04,413 --> 00:04:05,774 Like you have a blood clot. 54 00:04:05,774 --> 00:04:09,346 And so that was the first time that I caught a clot. 55 00:04:10,147 --> 00:04:12,228 Went back home. 56 00:04:12,709 --> 00:04:17,852 And by mind you, my brother, who is now passed, he passed of a pulmonary embolism. 57 00:04:18,322 --> 00:04:29,562 My brother, about three years prior, we were in college and on his way driving home, thank God, he went home early. 58 00:04:29,562 --> 00:04:31,802 Something told him to go home early. 59 00:04:31,942 --> 00:04:35,722 He went to church that Sunday and he played drums. 60 00:04:35,722 --> 00:04:40,982 And on the drums, same thing happened to me three years later, and he couldn't catch his breath. 61 00:04:41,102 --> 00:04:44,042 And he went to the hospital and he had a blood clot. 62 00:04:44,122 --> 00:04:47,301 Getting back to 2009, that was my first blood clot. 63 00:04:47,301 --> 00:04:50,881 Then in 2011, same thing happened. 64 00:04:50,881 --> 00:04:51,894 Couldn't catch my breath at all. 65 00:04:51,894 --> 00:04:55,786 I was teaching at that time, I was driving home and I couldn't breathe. 66 00:04:55,786 --> 00:05:01,121 And I told my partner at that time that I don't feel good and I'm going to drive myself to the emergency room. 67 00:05:01,121 --> 00:05:06,071 I got there and the doctor said, I think you have a blood clot. 68 00:05:06,232 --> 00:05:07,152 Same thing. 69 00:05:07,152 --> 00:05:08,813 This time they did an MRI first. 70 00:05:08,813 --> 00:05:12,515 And then after the MRI, they took me down to get a ultrasound. 71 00:05:12,515 --> 00:05:16,419 After that year, it was in 2015. 72 00:05:16,444 --> 00:05:23,316 when I got my third blood clot and that's when my den doctor said, I need you to go see a hematologist. 73 00:05:23,737 --> 00:05:29,659 I went to go see the hematologist and the hematologist told me that I had protein S deficiency. 74 00:05:29,659 --> 00:05:35,531 That's when I was placed on Xeralto, 20 milligrams that I had to take every day. 75 00:05:35,531 --> 00:05:39,483 And so they thought I just needed to take the Xeralto for maybe like a month. 76 00:05:39,483 --> 00:05:42,864 But then later on that year, I had another small clot. 77 00:05:42,864 --> 00:05:46,503 So I had to stay on Xeralto for now, only for rest of my life. 78 00:05:46,503 --> 00:05:53,447 Fast forward to 2017, that same brother who he drove from Tallahassee home and had a blood clot. 79 00:05:53,447 --> 00:05:57,789 My brother passed away of a blood clot, of a pulmonary embolism. 80 00:05:57,949 --> 00:06:03,512 And I think my brother also had protein S deficiency and he did not know, which leads me to where I'm at today. 81 00:06:03,512 --> 00:06:09,816 The second one, cause I'm asthmatic, so I'm thinking, well, maybe I'm just having like a asthma attack or something. 82 00:06:09,816 --> 00:06:11,027 So I didn't think anything of it. 83 00:06:11,027 --> 00:06:14,218 The third one I did, the third one I was like, I'm having an episode. 84 00:06:14,643 --> 00:06:22,883 It causes great anxiety because even like now, even when I'm in the gym and I'm working out, sometimes I have to calm myself down because I know it's not a blood clot, but then 85 00:06:22,883 --> 00:06:26,383 it's just I've had these occurrences and my brother has passed away. 86 00:06:26,383 --> 00:06:27,843 And so I just get fearful. 87 00:06:27,843 --> 00:06:30,203 But, you know, I can't think about it at all. 88 00:06:30,403 --> 00:06:35,623 That's the fear that I have when it comes to pulmonary embolisms and just blood clots in general that people 89 00:06:35,707 --> 00:06:38,077 People just don't know, people are not educated on it. 90 00:06:38,077 --> 00:06:48,402 And people who pass away for various different reasons, I wonder how many of those people who, I spoke with one of my colleagues maybe like three months ago, and said they don't 91 00:06:48,402 --> 00:06:49,582 know how her brother died. 92 00:06:49,582 --> 00:06:52,453 She said she just found out her brother said the night before that he couldn't breathe. 93 00:06:52,453 --> 00:06:55,084 And I said to my head, I'm like, God, what if he had a blood clot? 94 00:06:58,610 --> 00:07:01,572 I was a chemistry major in college, biochemistry major in college. 95 00:07:01,572 --> 00:07:12,299 so outside of understanding the body from my human anatomy class and understanding, reading about blood clots, that was just my true understanding of it, right? 96 00:07:12,299 --> 00:07:21,685 And it wasn't until after I had my third one that I started doing my own research on my protein S deficiency, on how it's hereditary and all of these things. 97 00:07:21,685 --> 00:07:26,298 And people with protein S deficiency are more prone to heart attack and strokes and things. 98 00:07:26,298 --> 00:07:27,569 So now that's when 99 00:07:27,569 --> 00:07:32,762 That was when I became more, wanting to know more and make myself more aware. 100 00:07:32,943 --> 00:07:38,337 I know doctors are doctors and I know they are very astute in how they handle the body. 101 00:07:38,337 --> 00:07:47,934 But I also, when I asked myself the question on whether the doctor, whether he negligent in a few different ways. 102 00:07:49,095 --> 00:07:54,519 My brother, the night before, about 11 o'clock that evening, 103 00:07:54,641 --> 00:07:59,492 My oldest brother and I, along with my middle brother, we all had a group chat. 104 00:07:59,492 --> 00:08:01,373 We always would joke on there. 105 00:08:01,373 --> 00:08:02,953 And my brother was just joking. 106 00:08:02,953 --> 00:08:09,795 Maybe an hour before my sister-in-law sent us a text message and said that I'm taking Keneel to the emergency room. 107 00:08:09,795 --> 00:08:14,404 And we were thinking to other, we're like, okay, well, maybe he's just not feeling too good. 108 00:08:14,404 --> 00:08:17,477 He needs to go to the doctor and that's fine. 109 00:08:17,577 --> 00:08:21,418 Something told me not to turn my ringer off that evening. 110 00:08:22,219 --> 00:08:23,707 Left my ringer on. 111 00:08:23,707 --> 00:08:25,388 I'll never forget this. 112 00:08:25,409 --> 00:08:32,855 It was 3 16 in the morning, my sister in law called and said they had to intubate Camille. 113 00:08:32,855 --> 00:08:44,254 And again, from my human anatomy class and just from my basic knowledge of the human body and even the process of certain things in the hospital, intubation, you need a machine to 114 00:08:44,254 --> 00:08:45,656 breathe for the individual. 115 00:08:45,656 --> 00:08:47,808 So I said, why are they intubating him? 116 00:08:47,808 --> 00:08:49,628 And she said, everything's fine. 117 00:08:49,629 --> 00:08:52,091 But in the background, I 118 00:08:52,091 --> 00:08:58,014 hear my mom like screaming, but then I heard my brother say, mama, I'm fine. 119 00:08:58,014 --> 00:09:00,305 So that gave me some solace. 120 00:09:00,305 --> 00:09:08,108 I'm like, okay, well maybe he's okay, intubating him, maybe just to calm him down so they can just kind of put him in a coma just so can do whatever they need to do or the body 121 00:09:08,108 --> 00:09:09,631 could do whatever it needs to do. 122 00:09:09,631 --> 00:09:16,659 Well, then until I got to the hospital and I never forget walking into the hospital and I did not think. 123 00:09:16,659 --> 00:09:20,678 of anybody where I didn't see anybody, although there were people in there. 124 00:09:20,678 --> 00:09:26,379 And I remember turning the corner, my mom was sitting on this chair and she was had her hands between her legs. 125 00:09:26,379 --> 00:09:28,219 And there was a nurse that was consoling her. 126 00:09:28,219 --> 00:09:30,419 She was rocking back and forth. 127 00:09:31,259 --> 00:09:34,739 And I think she knew that my brother had already passed away and she's crying. 128 00:09:34,739 --> 00:09:37,539 She said, go check on your brother to make sure he's OK. 129 00:09:37,699 --> 00:09:39,939 But I think she already knew, I think she was in denial. 130 00:09:40,279 --> 00:09:45,365 And then I walked around, there was a doctor that was there and the doctor who's there 131 00:09:45,365 --> 00:09:54,565 My mom had already said that when I turned the corner to go see where my brother was at, I heard my mom behind me, she said, he killed him. 132 00:09:55,665 --> 00:10:06,185 And I looked at the doctor, they had tried to revive him, I'll never forget looking at the doctor, and I said to him, said, what did you do? 133 00:10:07,785 --> 00:10:14,025 So, and I don't know if the doctor knew that that's what Keneal was dealing with. 134 00:10:14,025 --> 00:10:15,123 And then I, 135 00:10:15,123 --> 00:10:22,215 I battle with myself so much now because, and by that time I was very clear as far as what a blood clot was. 136 00:10:22,215 --> 00:10:26,946 And so I beat myself up often because I asked myself the question, and maybe I should have with it. 137 00:10:26,946 --> 00:10:31,697 Cause I probably would have told the doctor, like, yo, I think he's having a blood clot. 138 00:10:31,697 --> 00:10:32,678 But I didn't, right? 139 00:10:32,678 --> 00:10:34,298 So I can't live there anymore. 140 00:10:34,298 --> 00:10:40,520 I get emotional, not because I really do miss my brother, but it's always the one thing, of course I'm human. 141 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:45,371 But I don't know if a lot of doctors have the awareness also. 142 00:10:46,805 --> 00:10:54,085 I was happy when the Atkins came and not just with their story, but also with their advocacy. 143 00:10:54,085 --> 00:11:07,405 And that gave me the opportunity to jump on a bandwagon of something that's dear to me because my dad calls me, he calls it, me taking Ziralta every day. 144 00:11:07,405 --> 00:11:09,205 My dad's a pastor, so he calls it. 145 00:11:09,205 --> 00:11:14,105 I believe that you taking your Ziralta every day is the thorn in your flesh like David. 146 00:11:14,105 --> 00:11:16,005 It's your reminder, right? 147 00:11:16,563 --> 00:11:26,257 My advocacy now is even being a part of the blood clot community and what the state of Florida has created, like the first of its kind. 148 00:11:26,257 --> 00:11:38,002 That's when I really became more interested in making sure that we get the word out of not just about blood clot awareness, but helping individuals understand what it means for you 149 00:11:38,002 --> 00:11:40,063 to make sure that you go get checked. 150 00:11:40,063 --> 00:11:46,165 If your family's prone to strokes and your family's prone to heart attacks, most people don't think that I need to go see a hematologist. 151 00:11:46,165 --> 00:11:48,585 Some people don't even know what a hematologist is. 152 00:11:48,585 --> 00:11:55,665 But I can guarantee you if more people wanted to go see one, more than likely they would see, but they're not also know it becomes an insurance issue, right? 153 00:11:55,665 --> 00:12:04,425 So it's also about how do we educate insurance companies when it comes to blood clot to ensure that when people need to go see these specialist doctors that they're not going to 154 00:12:04,425 --> 00:12:07,845 do it for their health, but they're going to do it for their health. 155 00:12:09,885 --> 00:12:11,705 It doesn't have to be life threatening. 156 00:12:11,705 --> 00:12:12,925 I'll be honest with you. 157 00:12:12,925 --> 00:12:14,925 I'm at a place that... 158 00:12:15,893 --> 00:12:22,473 The moment I feel like I can't breathe, I mean, if I'm having like this anxiety moment to where I'm like, oh God, I to go, I should go to the hospital. 159 00:12:22,473 --> 00:12:23,353 It has happened. 160 00:12:23,353 --> 00:12:28,593 Once a year, I make my way to the emergency room because I fear that I'm having some type of episode. 161 00:12:28,593 --> 00:12:31,413 Soon as I say I'm Xerox, the doctor's like, okay, we're good here. 162 00:12:31,413 --> 00:12:33,453 I'm like, no, you still should check me. 163 00:12:34,413 --> 00:12:38,833 I still wear MRI because I just want you to be double-shoe. 164 00:12:40,433 --> 00:12:42,513 And I've never been denied an MRI. 165 00:12:42,513 --> 00:12:43,975 I've never been denied a... 166 00:12:43,975 --> 00:12:49,748 ultrasound when I asked for it and because I am prone to blood clots, the doctors are like, absolutely, let's go do it. 167 00:12:50,669 --> 00:12:55,751 In the medical industry, just like any other industry, mistakes happen. 168 00:12:55,832 --> 00:13:02,955 Whether a misdiagnosis or a misunderstanding, small oversights can be the difference between life and death. 169 00:13:03,216 --> 00:13:12,881 Here to discuss protein C and protein S as clotting contributors and the importance of knowing your status as a thrombophilic individual. 170 00:13:12,991 --> 00:13:13,861 This is Dr. 171 00:13:13,861 --> 00:13:15,462 Jeffrey Klein. 172 00:13:16,102 --> 00:13:24,304 The way to explain protein C and protein S that I believe helps people understand it is they're like traffic cops. 173 00:13:24,484 --> 00:13:30,386 They are the two proteins that slow down the clotting process. 174 00:13:30,426 --> 00:13:34,367 If you don't have any traffic cops, people are going to drive at a very fast speed. 175 00:13:34,367 --> 00:13:35,747 That's what they do. 176 00:13:36,027 --> 00:13:41,609 And these proteins that are designed to clot the blood are going to work unimpeded. 177 00:13:42,079 --> 00:13:46,753 Protein C and protein S certainly are inheritable causes of blood clots. 178 00:13:46,753 --> 00:13:48,714 This is a very important thing. 179 00:13:48,714 --> 00:13:59,503 If you happen to have a family member that's had a blood clot, whenever you are in contact with the healthcare system, you need to actively tell the physician or the PA or the nurse 180 00:13:59,503 --> 00:14:01,109 practitioner or whoever is seeing you. 181 00:14:01,109 --> 00:14:03,866 I don't care if it's in an urgent care for a cold. 182 00:14:04,027 --> 00:14:07,609 Tell them you had a family member who had a blood clot. 183 00:14:07,655 --> 00:14:18,118 It kind of doesn't matter if it's protein C or protein S because there are multiple other reasons that you could be what's called thrombophilic, meaning that your blood loves to 184 00:14:18,118 --> 00:14:21,081 clot and make sure your doctor knows that. 185 00:14:23,017 --> 00:14:34,746 So I have to say, like, listening to you talk about going to the emergency room and when I fly or I get a pain in my chest, I immediately go into, my God, it's happening again. 186 00:14:34,746 --> 00:14:41,361 I'm also on Xeralto and I had to go to a therapist for this because it had like taken over my life. 187 00:14:41,361 --> 00:14:49,077 And I don't think most people realize how so many of us deal with the mental health implications of this because we look normal. 188 00:14:49,193 --> 00:14:54,467 Nobody's normal, but we look normal, but you're experiencing these twinges and pains and whatever. 189 00:14:54,467 --> 00:14:56,436 And I was just so terrified I was going to get another one. 190 00:14:56,436 --> 00:14:57,680 And it's very, very common. 191 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:01,383 And then, you my therapist said to me, you're on an anticoagulant. 192 00:15:01,383 --> 00:15:05,086 It's not 100%, but it's pretty darn close. 193 00:15:05,306 --> 00:15:08,269 And the importance of taking that medicine. 194 00:15:08,269 --> 00:15:13,553 I wanted to ask you, when did you hear about Emily and her passing? 195 00:15:13,781 --> 00:15:15,941 What was that like for you processing that? 196 00:15:15,941 --> 00:15:19,741 Because I'm sure a lot of emotions came rushing in at that point. 197 00:15:19,741 --> 00:15:20,741 Yeah, Leslie. 198 00:15:20,741 --> 00:15:23,201 First, I want to acknowledge you seeing a therapist. 199 00:15:23,201 --> 00:15:25,061 I'm also an advocate of therapy. 200 00:15:25,061 --> 00:15:28,901 And for those who amplify it, thank you. 201 00:15:29,141 --> 00:15:32,581 Emily, I found out about Emily through email. 202 00:15:32,821 --> 00:15:39,601 When a deaf in a former legislator or current legislator, when it happens, they send a mass email out. 203 00:15:39,601 --> 00:15:41,041 And that's when I found out about Emily. 204 00:15:41,041 --> 00:15:43,015 But I did not know how Emily died. 205 00:15:43,015 --> 00:15:45,046 until Commigy. 206 00:15:45,446 --> 00:15:51,369 And I was a wreck when I found out that it was a blood clot. 207 00:15:51,710 --> 00:15:53,871 I was a wreck, Leslie. 208 00:15:53,871 --> 00:16:05,817 One, because Janet Atkins, although on different sides of the aisle, we have always been not just cordial friends with each other, as I am with a lot of my colleagues. 209 00:16:05,817 --> 00:16:07,418 But that's when I found out about it. 210 00:16:07,418 --> 00:16:13,041 And I was devastated, one, for Janet, but devastated also because 211 00:16:14,546 --> 00:16:18,630 Getting to know the family now, it's part of them and always will be. 212 00:16:18,630 --> 00:16:24,756 And there are good days and bad days, but there is just a sadness that permeates all the time. 213 00:16:24,756 --> 00:16:26,588 Like it's just there all the time. 214 00:16:26,588 --> 00:16:35,687 And a little bit of, at least on my side, a little bit of survivor guilt, quite honestly, because she was so young, 23 years old to be taken like that. 215 00:16:35,687 --> 00:16:38,581 Well, you were involved in doing something that is... 216 00:16:38,581 --> 00:16:40,261 that has never been done before. 217 00:16:40,261 --> 00:16:43,961 I mean, we've been trying to get this done at the national level and it's been hard. 218 00:16:43,961 --> 00:16:45,621 We keep pushing through. 219 00:16:45,821 --> 00:16:54,161 How does it make you feel now knowing that Florida is actually leading the way and that you were part of this groundbreaking legislation, hopefully being rolled out across 220 00:16:54,161 --> 00:16:55,821 different states across this country? 221 00:16:55,821 --> 00:16:58,221 I mean, you're a powerful voice now. 222 00:16:58,221 --> 00:17:01,381 Well, one, I love when good news come out of Florida. 223 00:17:01,721 --> 00:17:06,661 And so I will say that this is something that other states should model. 224 00:17:06,661 --> 00:17:07,645 All right. 225 00:17:07,645 --> 00:17:13,090 and we should amplify so people can understand and it should be a greater awareness. 226 00:17:13,090 --> 00:17:20,476 And I wish that it was more of an awareness in communities where people could be drawn to where they can learn more. 227 00:17:20,476 --> 00:17:29,614 Like even when there was a health fair that happened in October here in Miami Gardens and I asked the councilman, he was talking about all the people who were gonna be there, 228 00:17:29,614 --> 00:17:32,626 asked, do you have anybody who's gonna talk about blood clots? 229 00:17:32,707 --> 00:17:35,049 And they didn't, because no one's thinking about it right now. 230 00:17:35,049 --> 00:17:45,105 People are talking about heart attacks, people are talking about strokes and all those things, all important, but there's a precursor to that that probably we should talk about. 231 00:17:45,105 --> 00:17:49,037 That's probably the cause of the heart attack or the stroke, and that's blood clots. 232 00:17:49,237 --> 00:17:50,318 Yep, absolutely. 233 00:17:50,318 --> 00:17:52,069 And I think I had no appreciation. 234 00:17:52,069 --> 00:18:01,304 Like I had heard the term, you know, I was on birth control many years ago and obviously I'd heard the phrase blood clots, but I didn't really know what it meant until it actually 235 00:18:01,304 --> 00:18:02,605 happened to me. 236 00:18:02,621 --> 00:18:10,827 And then when I learned about how many people get this and how many people die from this and how many people are susceptible to this, I was like, this is a public health crisis. 237 00:18:10,827 --> 00:18:15,680 Like we dwarf opioids, we dwarf now HIV AIDS. 238 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:25,217 And so this is why public health campaigns work and are needed so that we can get in front of the public and educate them so that we can get in front of clinicians and we can 239 00:18:25,217 --> 00:18:26,598 educate them. 240 00:18:26,839 --> 00:18:30,861 One of the other things that I wanted to talk to you about is 241 00:18:31,391 --> 00:18:41,864 You know, and again, as I started to really immerse myself in this space, health information is not equitable and everybody needs this information. 242 00:18:41,864 --> 00:18:49,686 But certain people are at a much higher risk of getting blood clots, specifically the black community and in particular, black maternal health. 243 00:18:49,686 --> 00:18:52,447 It's a leading cause of mortality. 244 00:18:52,447 --> 00:18:59,249 And so you sitting in your district, you having a voice, you having to experience this as a black man. 245 00:18:59,989 --> 00:19:01,009 How do we do this? 246 00:19:01,009 --> 00:19:08,629 How do we get in front of the people who aren't getting the information and give them the information that they need to protect themselves and their families? 247 00:19:08,629 --> 00:19:11,089 Yeah, that is a very thoughtful question. 248 00:19:11,089 --> 00:19:18,549 It's funny you say that about a month ago, I spoke with the Senate president and because they are a lot of the health clinics within my district are closing. 249 00:19:18,549 --> 00:19:27,229 I represent the largest black district in the state of Florida and the health concerns in this district are great. 250 00:19:27,229 --> 00:19:28,841 I know for a fact 251 00:19:28,841 --> 00:19:40,207 that in the black community, stroke, these are high risk things where many people don't get treated for because they don't have access. 252 00:19:40,207 --> 00:19:46,971 And I shared with him that the elimination of health clinics in our community is a problem. 253 00:19:47,011 --> 00:19:50,413 You can't just tell someone they can catch the bus and go to the ER. 254 00:19:50,413 --> 00:19:57,905 While that might sound convenient and easy, it's not for the individuals who don't have the $1.50. 255 00:19:57,905 --> 00:20:00,547 And it might sound small, but it's not. 256 00:20:00,747 --> 00:20:10,315 So Leslie, my continued advocacy would be to ensure that the Black community and another community that we're going to speak about is the rural community. 257 00:20:10,315 --> 00:20:11,256 Absolutely. 258 00:20:11,256 --> 00:20:18,141 Our rural community and our Black community, we have to figure out a way to ensure that they have access to health care. 259 00:20:18,141 --> 00:20:23,829 I call the urban community, I call it the Starbucks community because there's Starbucks on every corner. 260 00:20:23,829 --> 00:20:30,089 The Starbucks community is like, you have access, mean, there are a lot of clinics, there are the hospitals that are right there in the area. 261 00:20:30,089 --> 00:20:36,109 But what about Liberty City, where the access to the hospital is just not close? 262 00:20:36,109 --> 00:20:39,989 Jackson Memorial Hospital is not that close where someone could just walk or drive there. 263 00:20:40,029 --> 00:20:41,469 So it is an access issue. 264 00:20:41,469 --> 00:20:44,469 And I've spoken to the Senate president about it I will continue to do it. 265 00:20:44,469 --> 00:20:47,089 I mean, these are things that are not, these are not partisan. 266 00:20:47,329 --> 00:20:49,421 And I also will put out there that 267 00:20:49,831 --> 00:20:57,625 Even pulmonary embolism, there's no D or R or I behind this or anybody's name, even those who have passed away. 268 00:20:57,625 --> 00:21:05,008 So when we're talking about truth and we're talking about what it looks like to ensure that people have access, I would hope that we're looking at, we just want people to be 269 00:21:05,008 --> 00:21:05,948 healthy. 270 00:21:06,068 --> 00:21:07,059 Right, exactly. 271 00:21:07,059 --> 00:21:09,890 Because this is very, very preventable. 272 00:21:09,890 --> 00:21:10,831 It is preventable. 273 00:21:10,831 --> 00:21:16,565 You the majority of it is preventable and the majority of it actually happens in a hospital or post-hospital setting. 274 00:21:16,565 --> 00:21:26,045 And so when folks are going in for surgery or treatment or whatever it may be, not even in a hospital, but an ambulatory center, you're getting hip replacement or knee replacement 275 00:21:26,045 --> 00:21:27,985 or whatever it may be. 276 00:21:27,985 --> 00:21:34,025 That family history is actually the most important thing that can be shared and risk assessing somebody should be an easy thing. 277 00:21:34,025 --> 00:21:40,345 And this bill is hopefully going to, you know, really drive that process and bring these numbers down. 278 00:21:40,345 --> 00:21:42,285 It's going to take some time. 279 00:21:42,425 --> 00:21:46,745 would love for National Blood Cloud Alliance to partner with you. 280 00:21:46,761 --> 00:21:49,153 to reach communities that need this information. 281 00:21:49,153 --> 00:22:00,573 We did our first black church bus tour last year through several Southern States and partnering with these churches, coming in, educating people about blood clots, maintaining 282 00:22:00,573 --> 00:22:02,114 that relationship. 283 00:22:02,114 --> 00:22:10,972 It was amazing personally, but the amount of people that we educated about blood clots and they're gonna take that information and share it with their families and their friends and 284 00:22:10,972 --> 00:22:12,482 the people they work with. 285 00:22:12,563 --> 00:22:15,061 And that's so important that we do that. 286 00:22:15,061 --> 00:22:15,632 It's so important. 287 00:22:15,632 --> 00:22:18,035 So I would love for you to think about partnering with us. 288 00:22:18,035 --> 00:22:19,747 March is Blood Clot Awareness Month. 289 00:22:19,747 --> 00:22:21,008 We can make that happen. 290 00:22:21,008 --> 00:22:22,921 I don't have to think like right now. 291 00:22:22,921 --> 00:22:23,291 Yes. 292 00:22:23,291 --> 00:22:24,552 Let's do it. 293 00:22:24,593 --> 00:22:26,134 I don't have to think about it. 294 00:22:26,134 --> 00:22:26,835 Awesome. 295 00:22:26,835 --> 00:22:27,936 Awesome. 296 00:22:30,997 --> 00:22:36,561 So I want to just kind of come back to, because we always want to share with people signs and symptoms. 297 00:22:36,562 --> 00:22:41,325 I know you talked about being in the gym and kind of having a hard time breathing. 298 00:22:41,326 --> 00:22:43,347 You've had three blood clots now. 299 00:22:43,588 --> 00:22:46,900 Can you just walk us through what those signs and symptoms were? 300 00:22:46,900 --> 00:22:49,452 that's, know, Eric alluded to this before. 301 00:22:49,452 --> 00:22:50,393 It's silent. 302 00:22:50,393 --> 00:22:51,854 It's sneaky. 303 00:22:51,897 --> 00:22:53,576 It kills people. 304 00:22:53,576 --> 00:22:58,580 But the signs and the symptoms, there's such a huge spread of what it could be. 305 00:22:58,580 --> 00:22:59,893 For me, I 306 00:22:59,893 --> 00:23:00,593 couldn't breathe. 307 00:23:00,593 --> 00:23:02,133 Like it just it came on like that. 308 00:23:02,133 --> 00:23:04,433 And I was like, Oh my God, I'm having a heart attack. 309 00:23:04,433 --> 00:23:05,713 But I don't have pain in my chest. 310 00:23:05,713 --> 00:23:06,813 My left arm doesn't hurt. 311 00:23:06,813 --> 00:23:08,733 I didn't know what the heck was going on. 312 00:23:08,733 --> 00:23:16,633 But just walk us through again what your signs and symptoms are so that people can hear from your voice learn from you what they should be on the lookout for. 313 00:23:16,633 --> 00:23:20,553 Well, first of all, I thought I was having one this morning when I was at the gym, but I figured out my 314 00:23:22,133 --> 00:23:24,893 I don't mean to laugh, but I'm right there with you. 315 00:23:25,873 --> 00:23:29,713 genuinely, I told my trainer, I'm like, I need to sit down for just two seconds. 316 00:23:29,893 --> 00:23:31,333 That's me. 317 00:23:32,853 --> 00:23:35,553 That anaerobic state gets me all the time. 318 00:23:35,553 --> 00:23:36,033 the time. 319 00:23:36,033 --> 00:23:38,513 I'm like, I'm having a papasode. 320 00:23:40,373 --> 00:23:45,613 And you know, it's crazy because I don't know if this ever happened to anybody who's listening or even to you, Leslie. 321 00:23:45,693 --> 00:23:49,853 But I miss, I ran out of medication the day before yesterday. 322 00:23:49,853 --> 00:23:51,413 This is hot off the press. 323 00:23:51,701 --> 00:23:54,803 And I was, had such anxiety. 324 00:23:55,564 --> 00:23:55,843 yeah. 325 00:23:55,843 --> 00:23:57,586 I had such anxiety. 326 00:23:57,586 --> 00:23:59,724 And of course, I took it this morning. 327 00:23:59,724 --> 00:24:03,391 And then when I got to the gym today, I'm like, my God, I'm having an episode. 328 00:24:03,391 --> 00:24:08,595 Clearly, I was just trying my heart like happy day out of this chest. 329 00:24:08,595 --> 00:24:15,661 But some of the symptoms that I, the first time, I thought I had a cold. 330 00:24:16,053 --> 00:24:22,693 You know, feel when you're about to catch the flu, your body feels like real icky and that's how I felt. 331 00:24:23,153 --> 00:24:27,293 And that was the first time I thought it was a cold and clearly it was a blood clot. 332 00:24:27,373 --> 00:24:30,593 The second time it was me, I just, could not breathe at all. 333 00:24:30,593 --> 00:24:31,853 I could not breathe. 334 00:24:31,853 --> 00:24:32,973 And let me go back. 335 00:24:32,973 --> 00:24:37,453 The first time it was a cold coupled with the day after that I couldn't breathe. 336 00:24:37,453 --> 00:24:39,553 The second time I just, couldn't breathe. 337 00:24:39,553 --> 00:24:42,493 I was trying to catch my breath, couldn't catch my breath. 338 00:24:42,493 --> 00:24:44,233 And here we are. 339 00:24:44,233 --> 00:24:45,493 Leg swell. 340 00:24:45,493 --> 00:24:52,556 ah warmth in the leg, that's one, or in the thigh, on the groin area. 341 00:24:52,776 --> 00:24:53,727 That's also one. 342 00:24:53,727 --> 00:25:00,640 I hope my nephew was having some uh leg pain a few weeks ago, and I told him, is it swollen? 343 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,390 Is it warm or anything? 344 00:25:02,390 --> 00:25:12,014 And he said, no, wasn't, because the hematologist a few years ago said to me that one of your niece or your nephews, one of them also have protein S deficiency. 345 00:25:12,014 --> 00:25:13,429 They should get tested. 346 00:25:13,429 --> 00:25:17,729 I tell my brother all the time, my brother and my sister-in-law all the time that they should. 347 00:25:17,729 --> 00:25:21,369 But those are some of the symptoms that I experienced. 348 00:25:22,189 --> 00:25:27,149 family history is one of the biggest risk factors for people. 349 00:25:27,169 --> 00:25:30,209 So if there is a family history, you got to tell people. 350 00:25:30,209 --> 00:25:35,029 If you have nieces that might take birth control, hormonal birth control, they need to know about it. 351 00:25:35,029 --> 00:25:39,629 If you have family members that are on hormonal replacement therapy, they need to know about it. 352 00:25:39,637 --> 00:25:41,247 You know, you made the comment about the doctors. 353 00:25:41,247 --> 00:25:42,468 Sometimes they don't want to test. 354 00:25:42,468 --> 00:25:44,018 Sometimes they do want to test. 355 00:25:44,018 --> 00:25:48,860 But letting people know that there's a family history could be the difference between life and death. 356 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:53,361 then knowing those signs and symptoms that you've experienced and sharing that with others. 357 00:25:53,361 --> 00:25:57,262 Same thing could be the difference between, you know, life and death. 358 00:25:57,322 --> 00:26:05,465 I'm going to stop there now that I have a recording of you committing to helping us raise awareness in March for blood clot awareness. 359 00:26:05,465 --> 00:26:07,265 My job is done now. 360 00:26:08,175 --> 00:26:13,189 And I seriously, I really do though. 361 00:26:13,189 --> 00:26:22,835 want to commend you for being so honest, listening to you speak in Tallahassee about your personal experience, about your brother was heartbreaking. 362 00:26:22,835 --> 00:26:24,957 But we were so thankful for your support. 363 00:26:24,957 --> 00:26:28,659 And this is a game changer in Florida. 364 00:26:28,900 --> 00:26:31,069 This is a game changer across this country. 365 00:26:31,069 --> 00:26:34,422 And so we're so thankful for what you've done for all of us. 366 00:26:34,422 --> 00:26:36,123 Leslie, and thank you all for your advocacy. 367 00:26:36,123 --> 00:26:39,476 And I'm so happy we are partners in this and I can't wait for us to work together. 368 00:26:39,476 --> 00:26:42,018 We should absolutely take this across the country and state. 369 00:26:42,018 --> 00:26:46,161 Well, thank you for joining us today and we're looking forward to developing our relationship together. 370 00:26:52,649 --> 00:26:56,810 Thank you for joining us on another episode of Taking a Breath. 371 00:26:57,050 --> 00:27:04,352 We want to thank Senator Jones one more time for joining us today and sharing his heartbreaking and inspiring journey. 372 00:27:04,449 --> 00:27:06,113 A special thank you to Dr. 373 00:27:06,113 --> 00:27:09,674 Jeffrey Klein for his insight and expertise. 374 00:27:09,894 --> 00:27:16,896 For more information on risk, prevention, and community, please visit stoptheclawt.org. 375 00:27:16,996 --> 00:27:20,637 And if you wish to aid in our efforts of blood clot awareness, 376 00:27:20,660 --> 00:27:27,044 Please consider donating to our cause at StopTheClaut.org forward slash donate. 377 00:27:27,425 --> 00:27:30,507 We know the patient because we are the patient. 378 00:27:30,507 --> 00:27:34,809 Together with listeners like you, we can collectively stop the clot. 379 00:27:37,311 --> 00:27:40,748 For more information, visit stoptheclot.org. 380 00:27:44,202 --> 00:27:47,145 Another Everything Podcast production. 381 00:27:48,508 --> 00:27:53,234 Visit everythingpodcast.com, a division of Patterson Media. 382 00:27:53,234 --> 00:27:55,877 Subscribe wherever you get your podcast.