21 February,2018 03:25 PM IST | | AFP
Serena Williams
Serena Williams says she lives in fear of blood clots, a condition that surfaced during a harrowing postnatal ordeal in September when she almost died giving birth to her first child.
In an op-ed piece she wrote for CNN on Tuesday, the tennis legend lifted the lid on her near-death experience while giving birth to daughter, Olympia, after getting blood clots in her lungs. "I almost died after giving birth to my daughter," Williams said.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams said she had to have an emergency Cesarean section surgery after her heart rate plummeted dramatically during contractions. The surgery was successful and before she knew it she was holding the newborn. "But what followed just 24 hours after giving birth were six days of uncertainty," she said. In a Vogue magazine interview in January, Williams said that during her postnatal ordeal she suffered a pulmonary embolism -- when blood clots block one or more arteries in the lungs.
ALSO READ
Serena-inspired win!
Serena Williams visits US Open for the first time since playing her last match
Serena Williams visits the US Open for the first time since playing her last match there in 2022
'Will be back on court': Venus Williams targets return for Indian Wells, Miami
Kim Kardashian would love to take tennis lessons from Serena Williams
But this was not the first time the 36-year-old Williams has had a scrape with death from blood clots. In 2011, she spent nearly 12 months incapacitated after a cut on her foot from a piece of broken glass at a Munich restaurant led to a pulmonary embolism. "Because of my medical history with this problem I live in fear of this situation," the American said Tuesday.
Williams said that while recovering in the hospital, one day after the emergency Cesarean, she felt short of breath and after some convincing on Williams' part, the hospital staff finally sent for a CT scan and then put her on a life-saving drip.
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever