Adelaide woman Paris Hedger develops rare condition after long flight to US
A young woman must undergo an extremely delicate 10-hour operation to save her life after developing a rare condition during a dream holiday abroad.
Paris Hedger, 20, from Adelaide flew to the US in December to celebrate Christmas in New York City, but fell ill with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) within days of arriving.
In just over six months, hundreds of blood clots have formed in her lungs, which in turn have affected her heart. She has travelled to Melbourne this week, where doctors will put her on heart and lung bypass machines to perform the operation.
Medical experts suspect the young woman developed her condition after being kicked in the leg by a horse during a trip to Vanuatu in November.
Paris claimed the horse riding tourist company failed to provide her with first aid despite a football-sized lump on her leg, and that doctors in Adelaide failed to warn her about blood clots forming even though she said she was flying to the US.
The long flight the following month triggered her condition, which has seen her in and out of hospitals in America and Australia since then.
She will undergo an extraordinary and complex operation where all the blood will be drained from her body in a final attempt to find and remove the exact spot in her lungs, after which she will be placed 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 her normal body temperature – to prevent damage to vital organs, including the brain.’
20-year-old Adelaide woman Paris Hedger developed a rare condition after a long flight to New York City, causing hundreds of blood clots to form in her lungs
Medical experts believe her condition developed after she was kicked in the leg by a horse a month before her flight.
After saving for ten years for her trip to the US, the travel blogger arrived in New York City with a friend on December 17.
After seeing the sights and ringing in the New Year in Times Square, they traveled to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Paris’ mother said she was lucky to have enjoyed her vacation before she became ill.
On January 12, Paris had difficulty breathing in Beverly Hills and was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Scans showed that 50 percent of her lungs were filled with blood clots.
Doctors told her mother the condition was life-threatening and she spent her 20th birthday in intensive care before being cleared to fly to Australia on a medically supervised business class flight on January 20.
If Paris had not had travel insurance, the flight would have cost $34,000.
Since January, Paris has been in and out of hospital, both in the US and Australia
She had to take a medically assisted business class flight from the US to Australia, which would have cost her $34,000 if she did not have travel insurance.
Since her return, Paris has suffered from recurring bouts of very low blood pressure and breathing problems, causing her to faint while walking her dog.
The operation she has to undergo is complicated by a damaged pulmonary artery.
“The pressure on my heart is a lot higher than most people. They’re not sure if I’m going to recover quickly and fully,” Paris said 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) has to be done,” she said.
Her mother Karen Hedger had to quit her job as a hairdresser to accompany her daughter on hospital visits
Paris said she looks back on her trip fondly and would continue to encourage others to travel
After the operation, Paris will spend a week in a coma in intensive care.
If complications arise, she may have to remain in a coma for months while awaiting a lung transplant.
“I just want to have surgery and hopefully get better because 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 over the past 20 years and that, despite becoming ill while traveling, she fondly remembers the trips she took while in hospital and would encourage others to “get out there and enjoy life.”
Mrs Hedger, a hairdresser, had to stop working and moved to Melbourne to be with Paris for the operation and recovery.