AJ had a follow up appointment with her hematologist this morning. The ideal appointment would have been “all genetic blood results look great, you can go off warfarin, have a great life”. Instead, I knew something was up when he asked if there was any family history of clotting disorders. Not that I know of? Well something showed up in AJ’s genetic workup.
She has Factor V Leiden which is a mutation of one of the clotting factors in the blood called factor V. This mutation can increase your chance of developing abnormal blood clots (thrombophilia), usually in your veins. This means, she will be on blood thinners for life, in addition to aspirin. There is simply too much risk that she will get another clot if she goes off them.
The bright side to all this? Sometimes life doesn’t hand you things the way you want them, sometimes it’s just downright not fair, but it just means that it’s a different road to take, a different route. And now we know why AJ clotted in the first place. Between a clotting disorder and May Thurner Syndrome, there were just way too many risk factors.
And there is still a happily ever after. We are now armed with the knowledge of this blood clotting disorder, we can make lifestyle changes where necessary, it’s not the road we originally chose, but it’s still a road. And AJ is still here with us, and we’ll take it one day at a time. Mom loves you AJ.