Bodybuilder, snowboarder - but Norwich mum Kelly, 36, still got deep-vein thrombosis
Kelly Bond, her husband Nick and their daughter "Baby" Bond. Picture: Courtesy Kelly Bond - Credit: Archant
A 36-year old mum and fitness instructor from Norwich always thought she would be one of the last people to fall seriously ill.
But six months into her pregnancy, Kelly Bond was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
Up until that point, Mrs Bond had led an active lifestyle as a fitness instructor, competitive bodybuilder, athlete and snow boarder.
She said: 'It caught me and the doctors completely by surprise because I led such an active lifestyle.'
Thrombosis is a condition that has no specific symptoms. Blood clots can cause sudden death in one in four people, and frighteningly, the symptoms are so general that they're unrecognisable.
World Thrombosis Day on October 13 aims to increase awareness of the often overlooked and misunderstood condition of thrombosis.
Experts said one in four people worldwide die of conditions caused by blood clots, also known by the medical term 'thrombosis,' yet only 3pc of respondents in the East of England considered this to be one of the biggest causes of death in the U.S and Europe.
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While blood clots can be fatal, the good news is that many, if not most, cases are preventable — most often by just getting up and walking around.
New research reveals that, as a nation, we are sitting for an average of 7.5 hours a day excluding the eight we lie sleeping.
This severely increases our risk of blood clots and in England alone, 25,000 people die each year from venous thromboembolism (VTE) contracted in hospital.
This figure is higher than the combined total deaths of breast cancer, AIDS and traffic accidents, and costs the NHS an estimated £640 million annually.
Mrs Bond said the impact of DVT on her life had been great.
'I had to give birth via a c-section and was also told I could not breast feed as a result so it was tough to deal with and it's only something I'm getting my head around now.'
She said that since her baby daughter had been born on June 8, she had struggled to get active again.
'It has completely changed the way I live and I've had to adapt. But I have set myself the goal of completing seven triathlons over seven days next year to raise funds for Thrombosis UK as I want to raise awareness.'