Weatherford Mother Suffers From Rare Blood Clotting Disorder

A Weatherford mother was hospitalized with what she calls a medical mystery. Krystal Gayer says she has a rare blood clotting disorder her doctors can’t explain. Gayer spent a month in an Oklahoma City hospital and even though she was discharged, her fight for answers is far from over.

“It’s a struggle, it’s a daily struggle,” said Gayer.

Sitting at home on her couch in Weatherford, it’s hard to see Gayer’s struggle because the true problems exist inside her body. “It was hard and knotty, and it was tender to the touch,” she said, describing the feeling in her left leg. “It was bright red, I couldn’t walk.” 

Gayer said the issue sent her to the emergency room a month ago when she was 28 weeks pregnant. “It’s scary,” she said. “I don’t have answers.”

An ultrasound revealed a cluster of blood clots running from her knee to her belly button. “A hundred percent included a hundred percent blocked,” she said.

Doctors removed the clots, but they returned the next morning. “It kept coming back within 24 hours between 12 and 48 hours I would start to feel that pain,” Gayer recalls.

After the third surgery, she had an emergency delivery to protect her baby girl. However, she said the clotting didn’t stop even with stents and blood thinning medications. “I could see that I had stumped them, and they didn’t know how to answer,” she said about her doctors.

One month and six surgeries later, the single mother was sent home, without a true diagnosis. Doctors did say they believe she has May-Thurner syndrome, but Gayer said that doesn’t explain the continuous clotting. “May- Thurner is essentially where a vein collapses onto another vein and creates a problem,” she said.

Now home, Gayer depends on her 16-year-old son for help. “I’m extremely short of breath I can’t even hardly walk on this walker,” she said.

And with her baby still in the NICU in Oklahoma City, she sits home still waiting for answers and worrying about the next time. “I’m terrified of something happening to me,” she said. “I’m terrified that I’m 75 miles away from a specialty hospital or anybody that knows anything remotely close to dealing with this and then what. I want to be able to come home to my babies every day.”

Gayer plans to see a specialist soon but may go out of state to find help. In the meantime, she hopes to bring her baby home in January. There’s a GoFundMe campaign to help with Gayer’s medical expenses. Click here to donate: Fundraiser by Kayla Glasscock : Help Krystal Gayer and baby girl Kobi Reece! (gofundme.com)