In a transparent, new interview with Vogue Magazine, Serena Williams reveals the scary post-birth aftermath that would have left her dead had she not warned doctors of her history of blood clots and how she’s treated them in the past.
Speaking candidly to Vogue Magazine, Williams explains how she fell ill in the moments after delivering baby Alexis by c-section and how she had to guide doctors through effective treatment.
The next day, while recovering in the hospital, Serena suddenly felt short of breath. Because of her history of blood clots, and because she was off her daily anticoagulant regimen due to the recent surgery, she immediately assumed she was having another pulmonary embolism.
“I was like, a Doppler? I told you, I need a CT scan and a heparin drip,” she remembers telling the team. The ultrasound revealed nothing, so they sent her for the CT, and sure enough, several small blood clots had settled in her lungs. Minutes later she was on the drip. “I was like, listen to Dr. Williams!”
Although doctors were able to catch the clots on time, her health issues were just beginning.
But this was just the first chapter of a six-day drama. Her fresh C-section wound popped open from the intense coughing spells caused by the pulmonary embolism, and when she returned to surgery, they found that a large hematoma had flooded her abdomen, the result of a medical catch-22 in which the potentially lifesaving blood thinner caused hemorrhaging at the site of her C-section. She returned yet again to the OR to have a filter inserted into a major vein, in order to prevent more clots from dislodging and traveling into her lungs.
With her post-birth scare in the rearview, Williams is focused on making her next championship run. The 24-time Grand Slam made a brief return in an exhibition match in December but pledges to not fully compete until she is back in championship form.