When most people think of the world tennis champion Serena Williams, they probably think of her career in sports and her ability as an athlete.
In a recent interview with Elle, however, she shared a different side of her life.
When Williams gave birth to her daughter back in 2017, things didn’t quite go as planned.
Photo: Wikimedia CommonsGiving birth is exciting and challenging, but sometimes it can be downright traumatizing and dangerous. Women sadly die in childbirth every day, and many more experience close calls.
Williams was in the latter group after she ended up with an emergency c-seciton. According to the interview, the surgery went ok, but Williams developed some complications afterward and she ended up saving her own life.
It started the day after she welcomed Olympia into the world. Williams was experiencing shortness of breath and she knew she was at risk of having a pulmonary embolism. When she went to her doctor, though, and told them what she suspected, they didn’t believe her.
According to Elle, the nurse thought it was “crazy talk” when Williams asked for a CAT scan of her lungs. The nurse didn’t take her medical concerns and symptoms seriously and it could’ve ended tragically.
However, Williams pressed the matter, and eventually, they did do the CAT scan. Low and behold, Williams had clots in her lungs, just like she’d suspected.
Beyond that, they also found a hematoma in William’s abdomen, and then they found more clots! She had to go through a lot of surgeries and was bed-bound for over a month right after giving birth to her baby.
In her interview with Elle, Williams notes that she felt “dismissed” by her doctors and medical staff. She knew what she needed and the nurses and doctors made her feel like she was crazy for it.
It’s a good reminder that we’re our own best advocates.
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