The 34-year-old Russian content creator Ekaterina Badulina had been battling what she believed were common cold symptoms when she received the alarming diagnosis.
Recently, Badulina experienced chills, a runny nose, and a high fever, prompting her to consult a doctor as her condition worsened. Believing she had developed pneumonia, she underwent an X-ray examination. "It turned out in the image that the doctors saw some kind of metal spring measuring 5 by 16 millimeters, located in the lungs," said Badulina, according to News18.
The discovery left medical professionals concerned for her immediate safety. After reviewing her X-ray, doctors warned Badulina about the life-threatening situation posed by the spring in her lung. "They told me I could die at any moment," she recounted, according to the New York Post.
The origin of the metal spring traces back to a previous health ordeal. At the age of 27, Badulina was diagnosed with thromboembolism, a condition where blood clots develop in the deep veins and can travel to the lungs through the bloodstream. During that time, she underwent surgery to insert 33 small tubes in her legs. According to Focus Online, Badulina underwent 20 operations in one year to address her condition.
הצגת פוסט זה באינסטגרם
Medical staff deduced that one of the surgical instruments from her past operations had migrated through her bloodstream and lodged in her lung. "After all the examinations, they said that a spring had moved in my body from a past operation... through the bloodstream... which, apparently, I didn't even feel," explained Badulina, according to Kompas.
"It was a dangerous situation where she could have died at any time," said medical staff, according to Mathrubhumi.
Thromboembolism, the condition Badulina initially battled, occurs when a blood clot develops in the deep veins and blocks a vessel. A part of the clot may break off and travel to the lungs, posing health risks.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.