Sarah Blackburn, who lives in the United States, said she didn’t previously have any sort of health anxiety but was left fearing for her life after she visited one of Prenuvo’s medical diagnostic imaging centres in Dallas.
Sometimes, we can be living with a condition without noticing any particular symptoms, while other young people have also shared the subtle signs they noticed after being diagnosed with life-changing diseases.
We’ve all been guilty of googling our own symptoms and thinking that we’re going to die from a stomach ache, and the sheer amount of information available online can often lead to people being anxious about symptoms they simply don’t need to worry about.
Sarah was told her condition gave her a one in three chance to live (TikTok / sarblackburn)
However, Sarah, who shared her experience in a viral TikTok, claimed not to have any symptoms or anxiety about her health when she booked her MRI scan, suggesting that she was simply curious and hopeful that it would give her some ‘peace of mind’. A strange thing to do with your weekend, especially considering some of the prices you pay for medical care in the States.
For those wondering, the scan reportedly costs $2,500 and is not covered by insurance. But it turned out to be money well spent, after Sarah was told she had a splenic artery aneurysm, a rare condition particularly dangerous for women who’ve had multiple pregnancies.
Worryingly, her test results came with a note which suggested the condition had a one in three mortality rate. Sarah was naturally very concerned about this and immediately visited the hospital to talk to a doctor.
Speaking about her experience, she said: “Looking back, i was so certain this was going to give me peace of mind. They were not going to find anything serious. I guess that’s why I was so excited because I was thinking ‘man I am going to sleep well after this scan’.
“The results came back super quickly, it was like four days. I went into a full blown panic attack and ended up in the emergency room because I needed a doctor to explain what this meant. In the report that they sent me, without any other context, it says one in three mortality rate.
“That is how my health anxiety started and it was a really dark and hard two months where I was spiralling and freaking out and seeing a lot of doctors. I had no idea about this and literally felt like a ticking time bomb was inside my body.”
After many conversations with doctors, she was persuaded to go through with the surgery to remove her spleen. Fortunately, the surgery was a success, and Sarah is now recovering and adjusting to life without her spleen.
