Her calf was swollen, the doctor recommended a massage. What was the cause of Kamila Skolimowska’s death?

Kamila Skolimowska was 14 years old when she won the gold medal at the Polish Senior Championships. Before coming of age, she won gold at the Sydney Olympics. Eight years later, her health problems began. Kamila did not have time to do comprehensive research. She fainted while training in Portugal.

1. Health problems began with Kamila Skolimowska in 2008. The Sydney gold medalist passed out in China, for which doctors blamed “Chinese smog”
2. It was then that the hip pains and leg numbness started. Then there were breathing problems
3. Skolimowska was to go to the hospital and undergo a comprehensive examination right after the training camp in Portugal. She did not make it
4. February 18 was the 13th anniversary of Kamila Skolimowska’s death
5. Check your health. Just answer these questions
6. More information can be found on the Onet homepage.

Dyspnea, fainting, numbness in the leg. Doctors spread their hands

Kamila Skolimowska came from a sports family. Mom was throwing a discus, Dad was lifting weights (he found himself at the 1980 Olympics), and my brother was throwing a hammer. She also quickly connected her life with sports.

The first great success came when Kamila Skolimowska was only 14 years old. Then she won the gold medal in the Polish senior championship. Before her 18th birthday, she went to the games in Sydney, where she managed to win the Olympic gold.

Two Olympics later, during the Olympics in Beijing (2008), Skolimowska’s first health problems began. She fainted, for which the doctors blamed “Chinese smog”. She also complained of hip pain and numbness in her leg. Later, breathing difficulties began and the athlete began to feel out of breath. Doctors spread their hands. They were unable to find the cause of Kamila Skolimowska’s ailments.

They revived her for an hour. Unsuccessfully

Her parents worried about her daughter’s health problems. Kamila went to a cardiologist. It was established that it is necessary to carefully analyze the possible causes of her ailments. It was supposed to take place shortly after Skolimowska’s return from Portugal.

– After consulting the cardiologist, we agreed that Kamila will return from the training camp in Portugal, go to the hospital and undergo comprehensive examinations. The doctor told us: “we can’t shoot anymore, we will check all the possibilities”. We were convinced that the problem would finally be solved – said Teresa Skolimowska, mother of the Olympian, in an interview with Onet.

However, a tragedy occurred during the grouping. The competitor complained of calf pain, so the doctor ordered her a massage. On February 18, Kamila fainted during training.

– Coach Krzysztof Kaliszewski called that Kama fainted during training, but that she has already regained consciousness and is fine – Robert Skolimowski told Onet. – In a quarter of an hour he called again: ‘she passed out again, but she reached the ambulance alone’. In the ambulance, she lost consciousness for the third time, they revived her. Soon after, her friend Wiola Potępa called us. She said that Kamila is dead.

Reanimation of the competitor lasted an hour.

The diagnosis came after death: thrombosis followed by pulmonary embolism

For several months, Kamila Skolimowska complained about her health, but during her lifetime no one was able to make a specific diagnosis for the player. So there was no question of implementing treatment either.

All of Poland learned about what was wrong with the Olympian after the autopsy. It turned out that Skolimowska had a thrombosis. In turn, a calf massage, prescribed by a doctor in Portugal, probably led to the clot breaking off. This one wandered on, eventually leading to a pulmonary embolism.

One step away from another tragedy. The Olympian could share the fate of Kamila Skolimowska

Less than five years after the death of Kamila Skolimowska, another Polish Olympic athlete could die of undetected thrombosis. Joanna Fedorow, the thresher, also felt severe pain in the calf. The competitor underwent an ultrasound but showed no injuries. Meanwhile, her leg continued to hurt.

Eventually, she was diagnosed with a ruptured calf muscle and dissection of the Achilles tendon. Treatment started, but the leg kept swelling. Discoloration also appeared on it. This bothered the physiotherapist Fedorov. Therefore, Marcin Łebski decided to get to the source of this state of his player.

– He then sent me for a Doppler ultrasound to check what was happening to the veins – Joanna Fiodorow told TvoiLokona. – On this examination, it turned out that the vein, which runs on the inside of the leg up to 1/3 of the thigh height, is in clots and is non-flowing. The same was found in the popliteal vein along with its tributaries. Here, however, the veins were flow-through on one side. In the top section that was clogged, the blood was not coming out as it should, and this was causing the calf to swell. In this situation, even more detailed research began.

Eventually, the Olympian came under the care of a vascular surgeon who prescribed her anticoagulants.

– I was just about to be at the camp in Spała. Thanks to my physiotherapist, Marcin Łebski, who signed me in at the last minute for an ultrasound examination before this camp, I am alive. If I had started the hard training I was supposed to do at camp, these clots could break off. Then I could share the fate of Kamila Skolimowska – Fiodorow admitted in an interview with Onet.

Symptoms of thrombosis and embolism. What to look for?

Kamila Skolimowska could be alive if doctors could diagnose thrombosis when it started showing the first symptoms. Also, pulmonary embolism does not have to be a fatal ailment (death occurs in up to 30% of patients) – the key here is to identify the disease state and then select the appropriate treatment.

Thrombosis is a condition where a clot forms in a vein that blocks blood flow. It usually concerns the lower limbs (this was also the case with Kamila Skolimowska). Only after the blood clot breaks off, it can lead to a life-threatening condition. That’s when the blockage occurs.

The most common symptoms of thrombosis are:

1. compressive or spontaneous pain
2. limb swelling
3. bruising or redness of the skin in the affected area
4. subfebrile condition
5. painful hardening of a palpable vein
6. in the case of superficial veins, discoloration of the skin
7. in the case of deep veins pain in the dorsal flexion of the foot (when lying down or walking)

After the clot breaks off, there may be a pulmonary embolism. This condition can be sudden and does not give any previous symptoms (also thrombosis does not always cause the symptoms mentioned above). The fact that the pulmonary embolism has occurred is evidenced by:

1. powerful pain in the chest
2. sudden breathlessness for no apparent reason
3. faster work of the heart muscle
4. rapid breathing
5. dry cough or cough with hemoptysis
6. swoon
7. sweats
8. fever
9. feeling anxious

What tests should I do to check for a thrombosis or embolism?

To diagnose thrombosis, the doctor often only needs an interview and a visual inspection of the patient’s limbs. However, if at this stage it is not possible to determine what is the cause of the ailments, the doctor may recommend a specialized ultrasound examination (as was the case with Joanna Fedorov). In exceptional cases, the patient is given an intravenous contrast agent, followed by an X-ray examination.

If a pulmonary embolism is suspected, the patient undergoes a number of specialist tests, including computed tomography and arteriography. In addition, the patient’s blood and urine are also tested (including, first of all, plasma D-dimers, as well as markers of myocardial damage, such as cardiac troponins), and also an ECG, chest X-ray or echocardiography are performed.

Only a vascular surgeon or angiologist can recommend specialized examinations. You can buy an appointment with a vascular surgeon who will implement the appropriate treatment at Medonet Market.

Thrombosis and embolism. What are the risk factors?

Thrombosis most often affects people over 40, especially if they do not play sports. Risk factors for blood clots in the veins can also include:

1. genetics (family history of thrombosis)
2. taking oral contraceptive pills
3. pregnancy and puerperium
4. chronic leukemia
5. strike
6. infarct
7. asthma
8. rheumatoid diseases

In the event of pulmonary embolism, the risk factors are:

1. various types of cardiovascular diseases, such as thrombosis, previous stroke or increased number of platelets and hypercoagulability (thrombophilia)
2. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in advanced stage
3. a history of pulmonary embolism
4. obesity
5. advanced age
6. pregnancy and puerperium
7. use of hormonal contraception
8. prolonged immobilization
9. cancers
10. bone fractures
11. convalescence after surgical procedures and multi-organ injuries
12. Crohn’s disease
13. ulcerative colitis

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2. Instead of going to the hospital, women wait for it to pass
3. Eriksen’s reanimation took forever. It could have ended in brain death
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