This is NOT an emergency! Repeat! This is NOT an emergency!

And yet there I was, sittin’ pretty in the Emergency Room of the Halifax Infirmary.

After feeling what I was convinced was a lump in my right breast, I called my GP to make an appointment. You have to describe your symptoms to the receptionist and apparently mine (localized pain, hurts to sneeze, hurts to take deep breaths, etc.) were enough to scare her. After she booked me to see the doc, she told me to go straight to the ER.

Turns out that the symptoms I was describing were on par with a pulmonary embolism which is fancy talk for a blood clot. The increased risk is usually associated with air travel and people traveling for extended periods of time may be at risk because they have limited movement. Bonus: certain cancers (like breast cancer) can increase your odds of developing a blood clot.

Did I mention that Mark and I had just flown back from spending ten days in Ireland?

A few chest x-rays, pee tests (the worst – I had just gone) and blood work later, a young resident came in to tell me that I had nothing to worry about – I’d probably just pulled a muscle. As I sat there in my Lululemon, wearing sneakers and a ponytail, I felt relieved but also a little pissed off.

I know what a pulled muscle feels like, doc. What did my x-ray look like? Oh, you forgot to look? Yes, I’ll wait.

Everything came back clean. It was weird. I couldn’t enjoy the results, however because I still knew that something felt off.

I kept the appointment I made with my GP and would see her next week.

#emergencyirelandmarathonsymptomspulmonaryembolismriskcancer