Blood clots claim lives of young athletes, families advocate for awareness
The Brief
Gov. Brian Kemp declared March as Blood Clot Awareness Month in Georgia.
It comes after two families who lost their sons to blood clots brought up the idea to educate others about clotting risk factors.
Their goal is to raise awareness about blood clots, especially in kids and athletes.
ATLANTA - Up to 100,000 people die each year from blood clots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 25% of those who experience initial symptoms will die suddenly.
What we know
Twenty-one-year-old Bryce Stanfield, a Harrison High graduate and defensive tackle at Furman University, died last February.
Seventeen-year-old Denmark High School football star Finley Krutchen died in October.
Both athletes died from massive pulmonary embolisms where a blood clot blocks arteries in the lungs. They both had the clotting disorder Factor V Leiden.
What they're saying
"Finley didn't show any of the signs and symptoms that you would typically think, but he had pneumonia, and they thought maybe asthma and he saw a couple of different doctors...was cleared by cardiology a week before he went into cardiac arrest," Finley's mom, Veronica Krutchen said.
"Bryce was a 21-year-old athletic football player. He was diagnosed with muscle strains and an upper respiratory infection, maybe a touch of asthma. No one suspected that his symptoms would be related to a blood clot," Bryce's mom, Teri Stanfield, explained.
Both of the athletes' parents plan to head to Washington D.C. in March to continue to push for blood clot awareness on a national level.
"It just helps us know that our boys' voices will be heard," Krutchen added.
SEE ALSO:
Mother champions awareness of pulmonary embolisms in young athletes
Forsyth County teen football star suffers embolism; to be honored at game
The Source
FOX 5's Kim Leoffler spoke to the family of Bryce Stanfield and Finley Krutchen, who both died from blood clots.
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