PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria lawmaker has filed legislation in Springfield that, if approved, would funnel money into research on, and education about, blood clots.
State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria) used the backdrop of the Bleeding and Clotting Disorders Institute Monday to talk about the legislation that she says the Illinois Department of Public Health supports. She filed it this past Friday, World Thrombosis Day.
It was inspired by Deveraux and Kristie Hubbard, whose son, Deveraux II, died more than a decade ago from a pulmonary embolism while home from college – not the flu, like they first thought.
“We learned that tragically. But, since that day, we’ve worked hard to teach others the signs and symptoms, so that they would not have to suffer the way our family has suffered,” said Kristie Hubbard, Deveraux’s mother, and one of the heads of the Deveraux Hubbard II Foundation in Peoria.
The symptoms can move to being flu-like, or as if you were having a heart attack, among others. But, they can start as “swelling, pain, warmness, fullness, tingling, numbness in the arms or legs could be the first sign of a blood clot,” said Dr. Michael Tarantino, CEO and Chief Medical Officer, Bleeding and Clotting Disorders Institute. “That has to be addressed right away to prevent a pulmonary embolism from happening.”
IDPH would be primarily responsible for dealing with the education, awareness, and diagnosis components, as well as the formation of an advisory committee, if approved, said Gordon-Booth – who, as a lead budgeteer in Springfield, says the measure will somehow get passed.
Question is, just how much money would be involved?
“I will ensure that there is an appropriate appropriation attached to allow not just the work on the departmental side, but also specific to the first element of the legislation which requires additional education, advocacy, and awareness,” said Gordon-Booth.
If approved, the measure is also expected to help in the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis.
The bill is HB 4172.
