Usually I remember my clottiversery. A time to reflect on how lucky I am and how scary it was at the time(and for a long time after). I have just realised that the day went past without a thought.
My first clot was over 8 years ago and my second over 4 years ago.
Over the last few years I have actively challenged my fears through travel, new adventures and experiences. Pushing past thoughts of what if....
This last 2 years I have done a lot of what i feared...some big, some small...from riding an elephant in Indonesia (I did still worry about what if I fell, but I had to be brave to set a good example for my children who were also riding elephants. My dad, my hero just said don't worry just do it) to taking a 6 hour car ride (12 hours return ) into the country to visit a friend with my children. Riding in the car any more than 20 minutes from home used to scare me.
I went swimming the other day enjoyed it. Being in a swimming pool gave me a sensation similar to when I had the clots and I avoided going in the pool for years.
I have reached a point when instead of thinking "is this a clot?" when I have chest pain to reasoning why it isn't a clot very quickly. I get pleurisy and inflammation of my rib joints frequently - both cause shortness of breath and chest pain- and this used to really bother me.
So i guess my journey to forgetting my clottiversery has been a good one. I have an appreciation for life that many don't have the opportunity to have. I have forced my self to step outside of fear and 'just do it anyway'
Happy not my clottiversery today. I shall now spend some time thinking about what challenge to do next