‘After surviving a pulmonary embolism, I was full of fear and very aware of my mortality’

Before her very first near-fainting experience in January led to the discovery of a pulmonary embolism, Filomena Kaguako had never come face to face with her own mortality in such a visceral manner. She describes the impact of her ordeal and how it taught her to ‘start again’

Filomena Kaguako: 'When you’re faced with your own mortality, you lose your sense of safety:' Photo: Arthur Carron

Filomena Kaguako

When the clock struck midnight into January 2024, I was as hopeful as anyone else in setting intentions for the new year. I planned to take more holidays, I hoped to spend more time doing aerial silks. But most of all, I intended for this year to be the year I’d become more established as a health writer.

Sadly, any plan or hope I had for my life was quickly shattered after I was forced to come face-to-face with my own mortality in a horrific way.