Bonnie Bernstein's new quest

Bonnie Bernstein’s new quest
By: Jim Williams
The Examiner
Friday March 30,2007

Anyone who knows or for that matter has ever seen ESPN reporter extraordinaire Bonnie Bernstein knows that she is the picture of health.

A proud University of Maryland grad and former college gymnast Bernstein is about as active as person can be with her regular workout regimen and her obsession with a healthy life style.

So you could say that the most surprised person on the planet to find out that she had a life threatening medical problem was indeed Bonnie Bernstein.

Bernstein on how she found out: “I was working the Texas-Oklahoma football game and the broadcast crew had planned our exit from the Cotton Bowl to catch our flight at the airport in Dallas. I was running across the Texas State Fair midway and my legs hurt and I was short of breath. Once we made it to the plane the entire flight back to New York my legs hurt and the next day I saw my doctor. After having an Ultrasound done I found out that I had blood clots in my leg and a CT scan revealed the clots had also entered my lungs. I checked into the hospital immediately. I was lucky I could have died but fortunately the doctors caught my Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT) before the blood clots got to my heart.”

Many people know DVT as the condition that caused the death of NBC newsman David Bloom.

Now Bonnie Bernstein and Melanie Bloom are working hard so that people know that this condition claims the lives of more people each year in the US than either AIDS or Breast Cancer.

Who is at Risk?

The fact is that DVT can occur in almost anyone. Some risk factors or triggering events to discuss with your doctor include, Cancer, Certain heart or respiratory diseases, Prior DVT, Advanced age, Use of birth control pills, and Obesity to name a few.

Bernstein on what she has learned: “I know that you can help yourself by exercising, walking, climbing stairs, simple things like stretching if set in your office chair all day. People need to talk to their doctors about this condition and to take the time learn if you are a candidate. Finding out ahead of time could as it did in my case save your life.”

For more information on DVT check out the web site at www.preventdvt.org

Meanwhile we look forward to seeing Bernstein on ESPN both on the set and on sidelines for a very long time.