Hailey's Story: Choking Hazard

The Medical Detectives

Soft Skills Media

Society & Culture, True Crime

3.6 • 711 Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2025

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on The Medical Detectives, we share Hailey’s decades-long ordeal with sudden, terrifying “stuck throat” episodes—from rural Yukon ERs and improvised home remedies, to the social anxiety of hiding her symptoms, until a late-night trip, a can of Coca-Cola, and a specialist referral finally pointed her to the right diagnosis. Along the way, we explore the highs and lows of rural medicine, the power of having a name for your condition, and how keeping it all inside can become a dangerous “new normal.” If you’ve ever felt dismissed, misunderstood, or too embarrassed to speak up, this is a must-hear reminder that finding your voice can unlock real answers.

Have a medical journey to share? Email us at [email protected].

***The information provided on the medical detectives is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. While we may feature licensed medical professionals, including doctors, we are not your personal doctors and no doctor patient relationship is established by listening to this podcast or interacting with our content.

All discussions are general in nature and may not apply to your specific health situation. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional before making any medical decisions or taking any action based on the content of this podcast. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking treatment because of something you have heard on this show

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please contact emergency services immediately or consult a qualified healthcare pro***

Transcript

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0:00.0	This was a wild episode because I feel like we ended with more questions, which I don't think has ever happened before.
0:20.1	Yeah.
0:20.4	You know, I, as I said in the episode, I have the literal cheat sheet for our guests,
0:28.9	what their conditions are, but it's more of like a skeleton.
0:32.6	And so I am always still, my brain is working and thinking through things. And what's interesting in this
0:39.4	episode is we discuss other potential diagnoses. And I just want to make clear that the purpose of
0:48.2	this show is really to give voice to the patient's storytelling of their medical journey, but that sometimes, you know,
0:56.9	real, real life connections happen. And so you'll hear us talking about other, you know,
1:03.0	potential avenues for her to research. But I do want our listeners to understand that this is not
1:10.5	me giving medical advice to people,
1:12.5	but rather me sharing my own experience with listening to a lot of people's stories
1:19.3	and trying to help make some of those connections.
1:22.4	I'd also say in this episode, just for anyone out there who might be triggered by this, there is some light
1:28.4	conversation around eating disorders. So if that's something that makes you feel uncomfortable
1:34.0	or that you just don't want to be exposed to, this might not be the episode for you.
1:38.0	Now, before we get into the episode, there is one thing that I wanted to let you guys know.
1:41.9	We are going to be off next week. We have some
1:44.9	pretty exciting things happening and we'll be back in action the following week and ready to
1:49.5	share some more medical mysteries with you. That's right. And for anyone who just can't wait to
1:56.8	get their story fix, I am making my little announcement about my book that is ready for
2:05.8	pre-order. So thank you guys so much for your support. It is Little Misdiagnosed with Harper
2:12.6	Collins. It comes out on June 3rd. And I can't wait for you guys to get your hands on it.
	...

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