Alexis Olympia Speaks On Serena Williams' Post-Delivery Complications

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Alexis Olympia Speaks On Serena Williams’ Post-Delivery Complications

Serena Williams’ husband is reflecting on the nearly deadly complications the tennis champ faced after giving birth. As previously reported in the latest issue of VOGUE, Serena shared deeply personal details about her post-delivery complications.

According to the elite athlete, she had to BEG doctors to check her for pulmonary embolisms after recognizing the symptoms and later had a hematoma from her ruptured C-section wound. She spent 6-weeks bedridden after the ordeal and her hubby Alexis had to take over caring for Alexis Olympia.

“The next day, while recovering in the hospital, Serena suddenly felt short of breath. Because of her history of blood clots, and because she was off her daily anticoagulant regimen due to the recent surgery, she immediately assumed she was having another pulmonary embolism. (Serena lives in fear of blood clots.)

She walked out of the hospital room so her mother wouldn’t worry and told the nearest nurse, between gasps, that she needed a CT scan with contrast and IV heparin (a blood thinner) right away. The nurse thought her pain medicine might be making her confused.

Mario Testino

But Serena insisted, and soon enough a doctor was performing an ultrasound of her legs. “I was like, a Doppler? I told you, I need a CT scan and a heparin drip,” she remembers telling the team. The ultrasound revealed nothing, so they sent her for the CT, and sure enough, several small blood clots had settled in her lungs. Minutes later she was on the drip. “I was like, listen to Dr. Williams!”

According to Alexis Ohanian, his wife’s harrowing story has inspired him to incite change at Reddit of which he’s a co-founder. Ohanian says he now fully understands the need for paid parental leave and it’s a policy he believes in.

“We’re blessed in a lot of ways and I couldn’t imagine a new parent going through all of that without all the support, financial security, and flexibility we had,” wrote Ohanian on Instagram.

Good for Alexis, it’s time for employers to realize the need for parental leave.