As the spring break travel season kicks into high gear, a harrowing experience serves as a stark warning for travelers. Emily Jansen, a mother of two, narrowly avoided a fatal incident after developing severe blood clots during a long-distance flight from Toronto to Dubai. Her ordeal highlights the often overlooked risks of remaining seated for prolonged periods at high altitudes.
Jansen was on a 13-hour flight for a vacation with friends and spent most of the journey seated in economy class. She described the seating as cramped with little room for leg movement. Like many passengers, she settled in to watch a movie and soon fell asleep.
The severity of her situation became evident ten hours into the flight when Jansen, upon standing to use the restroom, felt a sharp, intense pain in her chest. She described feeling an overwhelming urge to cough. Shortly after, she lost consciousness and collapsed in the aisle, sustaining a black eye from the fall.
Upon arrival in Dubai, Jansen was immediately taken to a hospital where she was diagnosed with a massive saddle pulmonary embolism. This condition, which is caused by blood clots that travel through the heart into the lungs, could have been fatal. Jansen revealed that there were multiple clots, and they were significantly large, a fact that still leaves her shaken.
Jansen’s ordeal serves as a grim reminder of the dangers associated with extended periods of immobility during flights. Her experience mirrors the tragic death of NBC correspondent David Bloom in 2003, who succumbed to a pulmonary embolism after spending long hours in a confined military vehicle during the Iraq War.
To prevent such incidents, Jansen encourages fellow travelers to frequently move around during flights. Health professionals also recommend passengers avoid sitting for more than an hour without standing or walking, as movement promotes healthy blood circulation.
This advice is especially relevant as an estimated 173 million Americans are expected to travel between now and the end of April. With flights operating at full capacity, awareness of the risks associated with prolonged periods of inactivity is increasingly important.
As Jansen continues her recovery, she hopes her experience will raise awareness about the dangers of long flights and the importance of staying active while traveling. Her message is simple yet powerful: “Get up and move. It might just save your life.”