A Canadian woman took to TikTok to warn travellers after she said she nearly died from a massive blood clot in her lungs during a lengthy flight.
On Feb. 5, Emily, whose username on TikTok is @alwayssingingmom, was travelling direct from Toronto to Dubai when — with about two hours remaining on the 13-hour flight — the 33-year-old got up for the first time to use the bathroom and suffered a life-threatening medical emergency.
“I was waiting for the bathroom and I got this really deep dull aching pain in my chest out of nowhere,” she said in a TikTok video, according to people.com. “I coughed three times and that was the last thing I remember.”
The woman said she collapsed and struck her head, suffering a black eye and bruised arm.
“I was unconscious for five minutes,” she said. “I had a near-death experience.”
“Thank God there was a doctor on board and some very amazing, competent flight attendants who essentially saved my life,” she added. “They gave me an oxygen tank, carried me to business class, laid me down. I was vomiting profusely, sweating.”
The mom of two said she suffered a “massive bilateral saddle pulmonary embolism.”
Healthline notes a saddle pulmonary embolism (PE) happens when “a large blood clot gets stuck where the main pulmonary artery branches off into a Y-shape to go into each lung.”
Saddle pulmonary embolisms only comprise 2%-5% of all PE cases. Symptoms include chest pain, difficulty breathing, low blood pressure and irregular heartbeat.
Saddle PE requires immediate medical intervention and, if untreated, can result in heart failure and sudden death. The condition is associated with a mortality rate as high as 30%.
Upon landing a few hours after the medical incident happened, Emily was taken to the airport clinic for three hours and then to Rashid Hospital in Dubai for scans and blood tests.
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Because of the length of time to get to the hospital, doctors told her that “it was essentially a miracle that I’m still alive.”
She was hospitalized for six days undergoing treatment.
Emily said she later learned that several factors were “detrimental” to her health during the flight, including lack of movement and wearing compression stockings that cut off blood flow. Taking estrogen birth control could have also contributed, she said, as it can lead to an increased risk of blood clots.
“So, that’s how I almost died,” she said in the clip. “I’m speaking out about it to be transparent and also hopefully educate people about the risks of blood clots and just as a reminder that life is so precious and to just really appreciate it. It sounds so cliche but I just have this new outlook on life now. Take care of yourselves.”
Emily also shared a photo and video from the hospital, showing off her black eye.
“I’m now officially a pulmonary embolism awareness girlie,” she wrote in the caption.
She posted an update on March 3 upon returning home to Toronto.
“I’m still recovering from this episode and my body has been through a lot,” she said. “I’m lucky I don’t need oxygen or anything anymore but I am on blood-thinning anticoagulant medication for a minimum of six months.”