Country singer Travis Yee says he is lucky to be alive after a frightening medical emergency sent him to the hospital and required surgery.
Yee revealed on Facebook that he had been dealing with gastrointestinal problems for several weeks before his condition suddenly became much more serious.
“I want to share something that happened with my health over the past few weeks that became a lot more serious, and honestly, life-threatening, this past weekend,” he wrote.
The singer said the issue initially did not seem severe. But about a week before his hospitalization, he began losing what he estimated was three to four ounces of blood every evening when he went to the bathroom.
At first, Yee admitted he did not think the bleeding was serious because it would eventually stop.
“And because apparently I enjoy making questionable decisions, I initially thought, ‘Well, it stops afterward, so I’m probably fine,’” he wrote. “Spoiler alert: I was not fine.”
Over the weekend, the bleeding suddenly became much worse and would not stop.
Yee said that within about 30 minutes, he lost roughly 20 ounces of blood and passed around 25 blood clots.
“I’m not exaggerating those numbers,” he wrote.
Despite the massive blood loss, Yee said he initially did not feel dizzy, nauseous or especially sick.
But when the bleeding continued, he finally decided to go to the emergency room.
Once at the hospital, his condition became even more alarming.
Yee said he fainted several times before doctors discovered multiple internal tears and bleeding involving blood vessels.
Doctors then rushed him into surgery.
“The surgery was performed through my groin area, and I’ll spare you most of the details because some things are better left between me, my doctors, and whatever dignity I have left,” he joked.
Doctors were eventually able to locate the source of the bleeding and treat it.
Yee has since returned home and is recovering.
The frightening ordeal left the country singer with an important warning for his fans.
“If your body is giving you a warning sign that something isn’t right, get it checked out,” he wrote.
Yee urged people not to ignore symptoms simply because they do not feel seriously ill.
“I was fortunate that I eventually went to the ER when I did,” he said. “Looking back at how much blood I had lost and how quickly things progressed, I realize now how serious this actually was and how much worse the outcome could have been.”
Yee said doctors told him the situation was life-threatening.