Disco dancing Darren donates to DVT
05 December, 2013
Whilst on the second day of a fortnight long holiday in Turkey, Darren Dixon, a dad from Brough slipped whilst dancing with his four year old daughter at a mini-disco. This fall left him with a broken leg, sprained ligaments and a potentially life-threatening deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
When he returned from his holiday, Darren had an x-ray at Hull Royal Infirmary and was put in a full leg cast. After a few days Darren realised that something wasn’t right.
He said, “They put my leg in a full pot, then four days later I woke up in agony feeling as if my calf was going to explode. I went back to hospital and cut off the pot and confirmed that I had a DVT, a blood clot in my calf.”
He was then sent to the DVT clinic provided by City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP CIC) at Westbourne Health Centre.
“The nurse sat me down, talked to me, explained what a DVT was and asked why I wasn’t wearing compression stockings. I had ultrasounds and they asked about my diet. I just didn’t know anything about DVT, but it’s a life-threatening condition and I’ve had to change my lifestyle completely, stopping drinking and eating healthily.”
Darren was so impressed by the service provided by CHCP CIC’s DVT team that he made the decision to raise money for them by running the Haltemprice 10k. In October he completed this in 52 minutes and today handed over a cheque for £1,122.
Claire Hunt, Clinical Service Manager for the DVT team has said, “On behalf of the whole DVT team I would like to thank Darren for raising the money for the service. The money raised will enable us to buy new equipment to further improve our service. We have been looking at an ultrasound machine that can measure the pulse in a foot, which will help identify and treat DVTs.”
Darren, who by his admission was ‘not a runner by any means’ has carried on his running, and is looking at taking it to higher levels.
“In January I’ll be running the Ferriby 10 mile road race. My wife Kirsty isn’t sure if I should do it, but I’m signed up to it now and looking forward to it.”
Denise Everett, Senior Operations manager at CHCP CIC thanked Darren, saying, “We are grateful to Darren for his support and for helping to raise awareness of DVT as this can be a life threatening illness if left untreated.”
In some cases of DVT there may be no symptoms, but possible symptoms can include:
• Pain, swelling and tenderness in one of your legs (usually your calf).
• Heavy ache in the affected area.
• Warm skin in the area of the clot.
• Redness of your skin, particularly at the back of your leg, below the knee.
If you think you may have a DVT, contact your GP who can refer you straight to the DVT service.
