UFC featherweight Danny Silva has revealed the terrifying, life-threatening medical emergency he recently suffered.
Silva, 3-1 under the UFC banner, revealed on social media on Monday that he was recently diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism.
In a lengthy post to Instagram, Silva began by saying “Could this have been my last dance? I don’t know.”
“Two weeks ago I thought I had a rib out. I pushed through like every fighter does,” Silva then wrote. “Friday I sparred, did my sprints, and my team thought I looked good. I didn’t want to make excuses, but I mentioned that my left arm was hurting and my rib was hurting. My team helped with cupping and scraping.”
“That same night I went for a run at 8 p.m. I did 3 miles. On the 3rd mile, my body was shutting down. I pushed because I won’t quit on myself, and 3 miles should be nothing.”
Upon returning home, added Silva, “there was swelling on the left side of my neck and pec. A good doctor friend of mine recommended I go to the ER to make sure I wasn’t having a heart attack.”
“After 9 hours in the ER, doing EKGs and CT scans, they came back with some bad news. I had multiple blood clots. They found a massive thrombosis in a vein in my neck, and part of the clot had broken off and traveled to my lung, causing a pulmonary embolism. This news has changed my life. Spending 3 nights in the hospital was awful.”
According to MedicineNet, pulmonary embolisms are the second leading cause of sudden death, after coronary artery disease. 25% of cases are detected through sudden death.
“The fact that I was still sparring and in such good shape just tells me how tough I can be in the face of adversity. Because I’m in such good shape I was able to survive. They told me 50% of people don’t make it. The fact that I was training, sparring, and pushing myself may have saved my life.”
“But right now there’s still so much I don’t know,” Silva continued. “I’m finally out of the hospital, but I have to be on medication for a couple of months. This isn’t the first time I’ve had a setback.”
“My worst enemy has always been me. My mind is strong. It sucks when something out of your control tries to take you away from your dream,” he added. “I won’t give up. I’d rather die trying, as bad as that sounds, especially because I was close to dying.”
Silva closed by thanking those who took care of him in hospital, saying “My nurses and doctors were incredible,” as well as friends and family. The 29-year old last competed in March, earning a win over Kurtis Campbell.
A GoFundMe with a $9000 goal has been launched to help offset Danny Silva’s medical costs.
