haley bieber is giving fans a glimpse into the “scariest moment” of her life: The day she was rushed to the hospital after experiencing stroke-like symptoms.
In a YouTube video titled telling my story on Wednesday, the model opened up about a recent health scare, revealing she had a follow-up procedure after her March 10 “mini-stroke” to close a hole in her heart.
Bieber began the video saying the day had a typical start, with her and Husband Justin Bieber sitting at breakfast together.
“We were in the middle of talking, and all of a sudden I felt this really weird sensation that traveled down my arm from my shoulder all the way down to my finger tips,” she said.
When Justin asked if she was OK, Bieber said she “couldn’t speak.”
“The right side of my face started drooping. I couldn’t get a sentence out,” she continued. “Immediately, I thought I was having a stroke, like a full-blown stroke.”
Justin asked for someone to call 911, and Bieber was rushed to the hospital. She said she experienced facial drooping for about 30 seconds and continued to struggle with her speech as a nearby medic asked her questions and tested her arms.
“Definitely the scariest moment of my life,” she said. “I had so many things running through my head. The number one being: ‘I’m having a stroke. I’m really scared. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know why this is happening. Am I’m gonna have permanent issues from this?’ “
Bieber added that she was “pretty much back to normal” by the time she got to the emergency room, noting she was able to speak and wasn’t having any issues with her face or arm.
Justin Bieber gets candid on wife Hailey’s ‘really scary’ stroke-like symptoms, blood clot
Doctors told Bieber she experienced a transient ischemic attack, or TIA, which Bieber described as “like having a mini-stroke.” According to Mayo Clinic, a TIA is similar to an ischemic stroke, as both are caused by blood clots stopping blood supply to the brain. Though strokes and TIAs have similar symptoms, TIAs usually last a few minutes and don’t cause permanent damage.
Though she felt back to normal, Bieber said doctors kept her overnight in the emergency room and “did a ton of tests.” After getting discharged, Bieber underwent more follow-up testing at UCLA, where doctors discovered she had a patent foramen ovale, or PFO, which is a hole between the right and left chambers of the heart. Mayo Clinic says the cause of PFOs is unclear, though genetics may play a role.
Bieber said doctors concluded the blood clot escaped through the PFO in her heart and traveled to her brain, causing the TIA. According to Bieber’s doctors, three factors likely contributed to the clot forming: Bieber getting on birth control without consulting her doctor, her recent case of COVID-19 and her long flights to and from Paris during which she didn’t stand or move.
“Basically, all of the doctors came to the conclusion that it was a perfect storm that led to me having a small blood clot,” she said.
Bieber said she has since had a procedure to close the hole in her heart and now takes aspirin and a blood thinner regularly.
“I’m recovering really well, really fast. I feel great,” Bieber said. “I just feel really relieved that we were able to figure everything out, that we were able to get it closed, that I will be able to just move on from this really scary situation and just live my life.”
Hailey Bieber reveals ‘very sad’ time in relationship with husband Justin: ‘We didn’t speak’
During a performance of his Justice World Tour, Justin spoke out about his wife’s medical emergency.
“You know, it’s kind of crazy how life randomly throws you curveballs,” the singer said in a video of his speech, which he shared on Instagram on March 17. “We can’t really control much.”
“She’s OK. She’s good,” he continued. “But it’s been scary. It’s been really scary. But I know for a fact that God has her in the palm of his hands, and that’s a good thing.”
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism