It was my senior season of hockey. I went down on one knee to block a 60 or so mph slap shot and was hit right above my knee where there was no padding. I was in a good deal of pain but never ended up bruising or having any swelling from the shot. A few days later I woke up with extreme pain in my calf, but I was confused as nothing happened to my calf. My mom and I went to Mount Carmel Hospital for ultrasound which came back positive for 3 blood clots. At the time I was only 17 so they weren’t allowed to treat me. But they told me that my senior season was done. I was going to be placed on a blood thinner for 3-6 months. That’s all I could think about. I was the captain on my team, was having a great season, was being recruited to play in college and then had a season ending injury. From Mount Carmel, I was sent to Nationwide Children’s and ended up staying there for 5 days. I was in so much pain but my nurses never gave up on me and did everything they could to make me comfortable. I was placed on blood thinner injections for 3 months. The doctors all knew how much I wanted to play but the right amount of time to fully heal was 3 months. It was a long and difficult process but I made it. Everything worked out in the end. I found a great home for college and a great coach who offered me a spot even after this time. As hard as it was for me to go through this, I was lucky it was caught in time and the Nationwide was so great with treatment.

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• Name: Kira C.Kira Collins
• Condition(s): Blood Clots
• Age at Treatment: 17
• Age Today: 02/22/199925 Years

It was my senior season of hockey. I went down on one knee to block a 60 or so mph slap shot and was hit right above my knee where there was no padding. I was in a good deal of pain but never ended up bruising or having any swelling from the shot. A few days later I woke up with extreme pain in my calf, but I was confused as nothing happened to my calf. My mom and I went to Mount Carmel Hospital for ultrasound which came back positive for 3 blood clots. At the time I was only 17 so they weren’t allowed to treat me. But they told me that my senior season was done. I was going to be placed on a blood thinner for 3-6 months. That’s all I could think about. I was the captain on my team, was having a great season, was being recruited to play in college and then had a season ending injury. From Mount Carmel, I was sent to Nationwide Children’s and ended up staying there for 5 days. I was in so much pain but my nurses never gave up on me and did everything they could to make me comfortable. I was placed on blood thinner injections for 3 months. The doctors all knew how much I wanted to play but the right amount of time to fully heal was 3 months. It was a long and difficult process but I made it. Everything worked out in the end. I found a great home for college and a great coach who offered me a spot even after this time. As hard as it was for me to go through this, I was lucky it was caught in time and the Nationwide was so great with treatment.