Serena Williams has revealed the severity of her health scare, describing it as "the scariest moment" in her life.
American cautious about recovery from blood clot
Serena Williams has revealed the severity of her health scare, describing it as "the scariest moment" in her life.
The former world number one is recovering from surgery on a blood clot found in her lung a fortnight ago.
Williams had been suffering with a hematoma from a pulmonary embolism which stemmed from an incident in a Munich restaurant last July where she cut her foot on broken glass.
The 29-year-old has been quiet on the subject since making a statement last week, but the American star has now spoken in detail of what the ordeal was like.
Road to recovery
"I could not breathe," Williams told
NBC's Today Show. "I remember thinking, I'm walking but I cannot breathe. That forced me to the emergency room.
"I developed what started as a golf ball ended up being a grapefruit on my stomach. I had to get it drained. When I got there they said, we can't drain it, we have to surgically remove it."
On the blood clot, Williams added: "It was the scariest moment in my life, [the blood clot] went from my leg to my lung. It travelled fast. I still have several clots in my lung and they are still there. They have to eventually dissolve."
Williams had earlier expressed her hope to return to action in early summer but the 13-time grand slam champion is now taking a more cautious approach to her comeback.
"I'm taking it a day at a time," said the reigning Wimbledon champion who has not played tennis since claiming her fourth Venus Rosewater dish. "I'm on blood-thinner injections, so I inject myself twice a day. My lungs are fairly healthy and I'm just on the road to recovery."
