Cowboys Cheerleader Charly Barby Says Pulmonary Embolism 'Changed My Life'

Charly Barby

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders star Charly Barby is opening up about surviving a pulmonary embolism.

“[On] May 6th, 2024, I developed a pulmonary embolism in my left lung that ultimately changed my life,” Barby, 23, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, December 5. “I was lucky enough to receive medical care in time before the unthinkable could happen.”

A pulmonary embolism is defined as a blood clot, which stops blood flow to an artery in the lung, according to the Mayo Clinic. If left untreated, the condition can be life-threatening.

“Blood clots, the risks of them and the symptoms are not talked about enough. Before this had happened to me, I had no idea the severity of a blood clot in the slightest,” the NFL cheerleader wrote. “The timing of this was extremely rough and the mental battle that I fought was just as hard as the physical.”

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Barby added, “Going through this taught me to never take anything for granted, how much I truly love to dance, the power of prayer and how important taking care of yourself is and most importantly to LISTEN to your body.”

Barby was diagnosed in May, shortly before she auditioned to become a DCC for the second time. (As chronicled in Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts, she failed to make the 2023 squad but did earlier this year.)

“It greatly had an impact on my journey to becoming a DCC,” she noted in her upload. “When that dream came true, I wanted to live in the happiness of it and later share my story at a time that felt right to me.”

Barby’s post correlated with her “My Cause My Boot” campaign, part of her duties with the Cowboys organization. She chose to represent the National Blood Clot Alliance.

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One month before her diagnosis, Barby had gone on a trip to Hawaii. Upon her return, she had gotten sick with a 103-degree fever. Doctors tried to diagnose her condition, prescribing various antibiotics.

“One of the telling signs was that every tendon in my body blew up like a balloon,” Barby recalled. “I was en route to tendinitis caused by this drug. I couldn’t walk because of the size of my ankles and it felt like every joint in my body was attacking itself. My back was in so much pain that I couldn’t jump, go over speed bumps or do any activity that caused gravity to weigh me down.”

Barby initially thought she had deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that typically forms in the leg or pelvis and affects only one side of the body.

“I believe that I initially started with a DVT clot, however, it was too late to tell since it had already been in my lung,” she explained in her post. “I am very lucky to have not had surgery.”

Barby has now taken blood thinners for six months “and counting.”

“[I] am continuing to learn more, as well as be tested for other underlying conditions on top of Factor V Leiden,” she concluded. “However, today I feel better and healthier than ever before!!”