Melanie Bloom accepted the fact that her husband, David Bloom, the father of their three children, took some risks when he covered hurricanes and visited war-torn countries.
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"I was sort of used to being nervous because he had this job that put him in harm's way,” Bloom said Tuesday during a visit to Oklahoma City.
So when David Bloom, an NBC news correspondent, went to Iraq in 2003, she was aware of the dangers he would face.
But she never imagined the one danger that would claim his life — a problem, she would come to learn, that could be responsible for up to 300,000 American deaths each year. As David Bloom was preparing to head out for another mission as a reporter embedded with troops April 5, 2003, Bloom collapsed and died.
Rather than a bullet or shrapnel, what killed Bloom was a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot, caused by deep-vein thrombosis.
Melanie Bloom spoke about deep-vein thrombosis Tuesday at the College of Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Bloom, a national spokeswoman for the Coalition for the Prevention of Deep-Vein Thrombosis, said she wants to raise awareness of the disease so that others can avoid the pain and loss her family endured.
"I certainly wished I had heard about it or learned about it,” Bloom said.
She recalled that shortly before her husband collapsed, he said in phone conversations that he was having leg pains.
"Only two days after mentioning his leg problem,” she said, "he was dead.”
Like most people, the Blooms at that time were not aware of deep-vein thrombosis. Bloom had several risk factors for the disease, including being dehydrated and having endured long airplane flights.
And, as tests after his death showed, Bloom had an inherited blood-coagulant disorder that can increase a person's risk of deep-vein thrombosis.
"It was like the perfect storm that came about to take his life,” she said.
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WHAT IS IT?
Deep vein thrombosis is preventable and treatable. Here are the symptoms, risks and where to go to get more information.
•Symptoms: Persistent leg cramps; pain, swelling, tenderness, discoloration or redness of the affected area; skin that is warm to the touch.
•Risks: Pregnancy; obesity; long airplane or car trips; birth control pills; trauma.
•Prevention: Stay active; don't smoke; maintain a normal body weight; follow your doctor's instructions when hospitalized and report any unusual chest or leg symptoms immediately. It can be prevented in most cases by wearing a compression sock.
•Information: Go online to www.preventdvt.org or www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
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Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.