A young woman is set to undergo a life-saving 10-hour operation after developing a rare condition during a dream holiday abroad.
Paris Hedger, 20, from Adelaide, flew to the United States in December with plans to spend Christmas in New York, but fell ill within days of arriving with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).
In just over six months, hundreds of blood clots have formed in her lungs, affecting her heart. She flew to Melbourne this week where doctors will perform a heart-lung bypass to perform the operation.
Medical experts believe the young woman’s condition was caused by a horse kicking her in the leg during a trip to Vanuatu in November.
Paris claimed the equestrian tourism agency failed to provide first aid despite a football-sized lump on her leg and that doctors in Adelaide failed to warn her of blood clots – even though she mentioned she was flying to the United States.
The long-haul flight the following month then triggered her illness which has since seen her in and out of hospitals in America and Australia.
She will undergo an extraordinary and complex surgery in which all the blood will be drained from her body in a last-ditch attempt to pinpoint exactly where the clots are in her lungs and remove them, before she is placed in a coma to recover.
His mother Karen Hedger explained A GoFundMe Campaign page for his daughter: “This can only be achieved by cooling the body to 20°C – almost half the normal body temperature – to avoid damaging vital organs, including the brain.”
Paris Hedger, 20, an Adelaide woman, developed a rare condition after a long-haul flight to New York caused hundreds of blood clots to form in her lungs.
Medical experts believe his condition was caused by a kick to the leg from a horse a month before he escaped.
After saving for a decade for her trip to the United States, the travel blogger arrived with a friend in New York on December 17.
After seeing the sights and celebrating New Year’s Eve in Times Square, they travelled to Las Vegas and Los Angeles, with Paris’ mother saying she was lucky enough to enjoy part of her holiday before falling ill.
On January 12, while in Beverly Hills, Paris had difficulty breathing and was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where tests revealed that 50% of her lungs were filled with blood clots.
Doctors told her mother her condition was life-threatening and she spent her 20th birthday in intensive care before being allowed to return home to Australia on January 20 on a business class flight with a medical escort.
The flight would have cost $34,000 if Paris did not have travel insurance.
Paris has been hospitalized several times in the United States and Australia since January
She had to take a business class flight with a medical escort from the United States to Australia, which would have cost her $34,000 if she had not had travel insurance.
Since her return, Paris has suffered from recurring attacks of low blood pressure and breathing difficulties, which led her to collapse while walking her dog.
The operation she is due to undergo is made more difficult by a damaged pulmonary artery.
“The pressure on my heart is much higher than most people’s. They’re not sure I’ll recover quickly and completely,” Paris told Yahoo News.
“I could barely walk down the street without feeling like I was going to pass out and I had a really bad cough… I have to have this operation,” she said.
Her mother Karen Hedger had to stop working as a hairdresser to accompany her daughter on trips to the hospital.
Paris said she remembers her trip fondly and will always encourage others to travel.
After the operation, Paris will spend a week in a coma in intensive care.
If complications arise, she could be forced to remain in a coma for months while waiting for a lung transplant.
“I just want to have the operation and hopefully be cured, because the operation is the only option that will allow me to live a normal life again,” she said.
She added that she was grateful for what she was able to do in her 20 years of life and that although she became ill while traveling, she fondly remembers her trips while in hospital and would encourage others to “get out there and live their lives.”
Ms Hedger, a hairdresser, had to stop working and move to Melbourne to be with Paris during the operation and her recovery.
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