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Silva Hospitalized By Pulmonary Embolism, Fighting Future Uncertain
UFC Featherweight prospect Danny Silva is lucky to be alive.
On Monday, Silva revealed on social media that he was hospitalized by a pulmonary embolism. What began as strange symptoms like arm pain and neck swelling could have been fatal, but Silva luckily was advised to go to the emergency room and seek treatment. As a result, Silva is alive but on medications, and his fighting future is now uncertain.
"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.
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.
I got home, and 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.
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. 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.
I won't give up. I'd rather die trying, as bad as that sounds, especially because I was close to dying.
Before that, I want to say thank you to everyone who took care of me during this hard time. My nurses and doctors were incredible, and I'm beyond grateful for the care I received. To my friends and family who showed up, stayed with me, and never left my side—I felt all the love. You all gave me the strength I needed to get through this. Im sorry to all my friends, my family and my team. I wish the outcome was different. Hope God has a plan."