[Intro — spoken]

Carol had flown a million miles in her career...

Tokyo, London, Dubai — she'd seen them all...

But the flight home from Singapore was different...

[Verse 1]

Carol buckled in for eighteen hours — Singapore to home,

Fell asleep before takeoff — exhausted to the bone,

Woke up somewhere over the Pacific — something wrong,

Left calf aching — swollen — been building all along.

Landed home on Tuesday — brushed it off as tired,

Wednesday morning — sharp chest pain — heart rate fired,

Breathing fast — couldn't get a full breath in,

Called her husband — said something's happening within.

[Pre-Chorus]

Carol was on birth control — had been for years,

Smoked socially — not much — but the risk appears,

Grandmother had clots — she never knew that mattered,

Now the pieces of the puzzle — finally scattered.

[Chorus]

Carol's got a clot — traveled from her leg up to her lung,

Sharp chest pain and breathlessness — alarm bells rung,

Heart rate racing — oxygen dropping low,

Carol's got a clot — and it's got to go.

[Verse 2]

ER doctor ran a blood test — number came back high,

Confirmed suspicion — straight to the scanner — why,

Pictures showed the clot — right there in the vessel,

Blood thinners started fast — the clot they had to wrestle.

Doctor scored the severity — heart strain showing too,

Admitted to the hospital — monitoring all through,

Oxygen through the nose — heart rate slowing down,

Carol stabilized by morning — best nurse in the town.

[Bridge]

Doctor said the clot came from her leg — traveled up above,

Long flight — not moving — blood pooled — push and shove,

Birth control and smoking — doubled up the risk,

Carol quit the cigarettes — decision swift and brisk.

Switched to a different contraceptive — pills are off the list,

Compression stockings for the flights — nothing should be missed,

Walk the aisle every hour — exercise the calf,

Prevention is the lesson — Carol learned on Carol's behalf.

[Outro]

Carol flies for work still — Tokyo and Rome,

Compression stockings in her bag — walks the aisle going home,

Blood thinner for six months — then reassessed again,

Carol's lungs are clear now — back to her routine then.

“Carol’s Story”