09/09/2026
At 34 years old, Megan considered herself healthy. She worked physically demanding shifts as a package handler, stayed active and had never faced a major medical emergency.
Then, just before the busiest season of the year, she began experiencing severe pain in her back and abdomen. Over the course of several days, she visited multiple emergency departments searching for answers. Despite dangerously high blood pressure and worsening symptoms, she was repeatedly told the pain was likely muscular or related to her hip.
But Megan knew something wasn’t right. “It felt like something inside of me was ripping, trying to get out,” she said.
When the pain became unbearable, Megan’s husband drove her from Roane County to UT Medical's Emergency Department. There, physicians ordered a specialized CT angiogram that revealed a rare and potentially life-threatening condition: a spontaneous superior mesenteric artery (SMA) dissection – a tear in an artery that supplies blood to the intestines.
“Our team of vascular surgeons is proud to care for complex patients near home and provide the level of expertise needed when rare, serious conditions require immediate answers,” said Oscar Grandas, MD.
Megan was admitted to the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, where Dr. Grandas and the University Vascular & Transplant Surgeons team worked quickly to stabilize her blood pressure and prevent devastating complications.
Doctors later told Megan that if she had waited another day to seek care, the outcome could have been much worse.
During her stay, Megan says the compassion of the nurses and staff made an unforgettable difference. “The nurses were incredible,” she said. “They treated us like people, not just patients.”
Now continuing her recovery, Megan hopes her story encourages others to trust their instincts and advocate for themselves when something feels wrong. “You have to keep pushing until someone listens,” she said.
At UT Medical, the region’s academic health system and a Verified Comprehensive Inpatient Vascular Center, patients benefit from advanced imaging, specialized expertise and collaborative care designed to diagnose even the rarest conditions.
Read Megan’s full story on our blog.
https://www.utmedical.org/blog-post/diagnosis-saved-megans-life
