Hailey Bieber is opening up about her hospitalization for the first time since her health scare in March.
In a video posted to her YouTube channel, the model shared that she wants to tell the story in her "own words." She detailed that while having breakfast with her husband, Justin, her fingertips felt "numb and weird." When Justin asked how she was feeling, she found she "couldn't speak." She recounted,
"The right side of my face started drooping, I couldn't get a sentence out. Immediately, I thought I was having a stroke."
A nearby medic examined her before calling an ambulance. Hailey says her anxiety was "making everything worse" as she was unable to answer questions. She continued,
"By the time I got to the emergency room, I was pretty much back to normal – [I] could talk, [I] wasn't having any issues with my face or my arm."
A series of tests revealed that Bieber experienced a TIA--a Transient Ischemic Attack, often called a mini-stroke. A small blood clot prevented oxygen from reaching her brain, most likely caused by her starting birth control without consulting her doctor. As Bieber suffers from migraines, the combination can be dangerous.
The model also recently had COVID, and had been traveling "from Paris and back in a really short amount of time," meaning the high altitude could have also affected the blood clot. A follow-up appointment at UCLA showed Hailey's blood clot made it to her brain through a PFO--a small hole in her heart.
Bieber was diagnosed with the "highest grade" PFO and underwent a procedure to close the hole. Hailey said it went "very smoothly" and that she's recovering fully, though she added,
"It was definitely the scariest moment of my life."
She said she wanted to wait until "everything had gone smoothly" before sharing the full details. She first announced the health crisis in an Instagram post on March 12, and said that because it was already "kind of public," she wanted to explain the ordeal.
"The biggest thing I feel is 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."
She finished the video by thanking the doctors who treated her, and giving one last message to viewers who may be familiar with what she went through.
"If there's anybody that watches this that has gone through the same thing or something similar, I definitely really empathize with you. And I understand how life-altering and scary it is."
