Woman Issues Warning After Life-Threatening Medical Emergency During 13-Hour Flight: ‘Miracle That I’m Still Alive’

A Canadian woman is issuing a warning to travelers after she nearly died from a massive blood clot in her lungs during a lengthy flight.

On Feb. 5, Emily — who goes by the TikTok username @alwayssingingmom — was traveling on a direct flight from Toronto to Dubai. With about two hours left in the 13-hour flight, the 33-year-old got up for the first time to use the bathroom when she 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 recalled in a TikTok video. “I coughed three times and that was the last thing I remember.”

Emily said she collapsed and hit her head, causing a black eye and bruised arm.

“I was unconscious for five minutes,” she said. “I had a near-death experience.”

Related: Woman, 30, Dies After Blood Clot Symptoms Were Dismissed Twice as 'Long COVID and Anxiety'

“Thank God there was a doctor on board and some very amazing, competent flight attendants who essentially saved my life,” she continued. “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.”

A saddle pulmonary embolism (PE) occurs when "a large blood clot gets stuck where the main pulmonary artery branches off into a Y-shape to go into each lung," according to Healthline. Saddle pulmonary embolisms only comprise two to five percent of all PE cases. The symptoms of the condition include chest pain, difficulty breathing, low blood pressure and irregular heartbeat.

Saddle PE requires immediate medical intervention. If left untreated, it can result in heart failure and sudden death. The condition is associated with a significant mortality rate as high as 30%.

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After the flight landed a couple hours later, Emily was taken to the airport clinic for three hours and then transported to Rashid Hospital in Dubai where scans and blood tests were done to diagnose her.

Due to how long it took Emily 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.

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Emily later learned that a number of factors were “detrimental” to her health during the flight. She said doctors attributed her PE to her not moving during the lengthy flight and wearing compression stockings that cut off blood flow. Taking estrogen birth control could have also contributed, she said, because 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 cliché 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 significant black eye.

“I’m now officially a pulmonary embolism awareness girlie 💜” she wrote in the caption.

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On March 3, Emily posted an update on her health after returning back home to Toronto.

“I’m still recovering from this episode and my body has been through a lot,” she shared. “I’m lucky I don’t need oxygen or anything anymore but I am on blood-thinking anticoagulant medication for a minimum of six months.”

Emily said she also has scheduled visits with a hematologist and cardiologist to follow up on her treatment moving forward and ensure that the blood clots have completely broken up. “I am resting and recovering now,” she added.

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