A young woman is set to undergo an extremely delicate 10-hour operation to save her life after she developed a rare condition while on a dream overseas holiday.
Adelaide woman Paris Hedger, 20, flew to the US in December to tick off a goal of experiencing Christmas in New York City but fell ill within days of landing with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).
In just over six months, hundreds of blood clots have formed in her lungs, which has in turn affected her heart. She has this week travelled to Melbourne where doctors will place her on heart and lung bypass equipment to perform the surgery.
Medical experts believe the young woman’s condition was brought about after she was kicked in the leg by a horse while on a trip to Vanuatu in November.
Paris claimed the tourist horse-riding company did not give her first aid despite a ‘football-sized’ lump on her leg and doctors back in Adelaide did not warn her about blood clots forming – even though she mentioned she was flying to the U.S.
The long-haul flight the following month then triggered her condition 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 is drained from her body in a last-ditch attempt locate exactly where the clots are in her lungs and remove them, before placing her in a coma to recover.
Her mother Karen Hedger explained on a GoFundMe page for her daughter: ‘This can only be achieved by cooling her body to 20°C – almost half the normal body temperature – to prevent damage to vital organs, including the brain.’
Adelaide woman Paris Hedger, 20, developed a rare condition after a long-haul flight to New York City which caused hundreds of blood clots to form in her lungs
Medical experts think her condition was brought about after she was kicked in the leg by a horse a month before her flight
After saving up for a decade for her U.S. trip, the travel blogger arrived with a friend in New York City on December 17.
After seeing the sights and ringing in the new year in Times Square, they travelled to Las Vegas and Los Angeles, with Paris’s mother saying she was fortunate to have enjoyed some of her holiday before she fell ill.
On January 12, while in Beverley Hills, Paris had trouble breathing and was rushed to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where scans revealed 50 per cent of her lungs were filled with blood clots.
Doctors told her mother the condition was life-threatening and she spent her 20th birthday in the ICU before she was allowed to fly 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 in and out of hospital both in the U.S. and in Australia since January
She had to get a business-class flight with a medical escort from the U.S. to Australia, which would have cost $34,000 if she did not have travel insurance
Since her return, Paris has had recurring bouts of very low blood pressure and breathing difficulties, which led to her collapsing while taking her dog for a walk.
The operation she is set to undergo has been made more difficult due to a damaged lung artery.
‘The pressures on my heart are quite a bit higher than most people. They’re not too sure if I will make a full quick recovery,’ Paris told Yahoo News.
‘I could barely walk down the street without feeling like I was going to faint and I had a really bad cough… it [the surgery] needs to be done,’ she said.
Her mother Karen Hedger has had to stop working as a hairdresser to accompany her daughter on hospital trips
Paris said she looks back on her trip fondly and would still encourage others to travel
After the surgery, Paris will spend a week in a coma in the ICU.
If there are any complications, she could be forced to remain in the coma for months waiting for a lung transplant.
‘I just want to have the surgery and hopefully be cured from this, because the surgery is the only option for me to live a normal life again,’ she said.
She added that she is grateful for what she has been able to do in her 20 years and, even though she got sick travelling, remembers her trips fondly while in hospital and would encourage others ‘get out there and live life’.
Ms Hedger, a hairdresser, has had to stop working and move to Melbourne to be with Paris for the operation and recovery.
