YouTuber Justine Ezarik — or iJustine — has opened up about finding a rare, life-threatening blood clot in her shoulder, which travelled to her lungs and left her bedridden for several days.
In late March, Ezarik had noticed her arm was feeling numb but it wasn’t until April 1 that the 38-year-old was rushed to the hospital after it started swelling and turning purple. She was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis — a type of blood clot that forms in veins deep in the body — and was immediately admitted as staff began to treat the blood clot.
“I went from (being) perfectly fine to almost (dying) in the course of a few hours,” Ezarik, who has more than 7 million subscribers on YouTube, told “Today.”
Ezarik was prescribed high doses of blood thinners for her deep vein thrombosis and was later transferred to another hospital for treatment.
At the second hospital she underwent two thrombectomies — a surgery to remove a blood clot from inside an artery or vein, using a catheter to break up the clot so it didn’t move to her heart or brain, which can be particularly dangerous and cause a stroke or heart attack.
The procedure — which was done twice because the clot didn’t break apart the first time — left her bedridden for several days.
“I couldn’t move either of my arms because one had the catheter (and) the other had so many needles,” she recalled. “My sister was brushing my teeth and feeding me. I was basically in bed for four days without moving.”
“My body was not letting me be myself,” she continued. “It was very very difficult.”
Even after the two procedures, a piece of the clot broke off and traveled to Ezarik’s lungs. This caused a pulmonary embolism, which occurs when a blood clot gets stuck in an artery in the lung and blocks blood flow to a part of the lung.
Thankfully, it was treated with blood thinners successfully.
Doctors later diagnosed Ezarik with thoracic outlet syndrome — or Paget Schroetter syndrome — which according to Mayo Clinic is a condition where the blood vessels or nerves between the collarbone and the top rib bone are compressed.
Ezarik said doctors found a rib that was set in a way that “pinches the vein,” which is what caused her clot to form.
“I do a lot of martial arts and also sword and lightsaber training, and there’s a lot of repetitive arm movements, like circular spinning,” she explained. “Thoracic outlet syndrome is very common among athletes.”
Blood clots in people under 40 are rare — but not uncommon, affecting over 900,000 Americans each year.
According to Mayo Clinic, there are three general types of thoracic outlet syndrome: neurogenic (neurologic) thoracic outlet syndrome, which is the most common types and occurs when the nerves leading from the neck to the arm is compressed, venous thoracic outlet syndrome when a vein is compressed and leads to upper body thrombosis, and arterial thoracic outlet syndrome when an artery is compressed.
Five months after the health scare, Ezarik has started working out again but says she’s careful to rest and take it easy. She told “Today” she’s considering a surgery to remove part of her rib and urged anyone with health concerns to have it checked out.
“I hate that this happened to me, but I’m so glad I have this platform to be able to let people know,” Ezarik said. “No one would ever think about blood clots until it happens to you.”
