Minutes into her flight to Cleveland for a visit to the renowned Cleveland Clinic, where she hoped to find answers about her struggle with a rare autoimmune disease, Ashley Spencer collapsed outside an aeroplane bathroom.
Spencer, from the Philadelphia area, reportedly suffers from Churg-Strauss syndrome, also known as eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, a disorder that causes inflammation in the blood vessels, slowing down blood flow to vital organs, according to the Mayo Clinic. On Saturday, the 28-year-old headed to Philadelphia International Airport, ready to go to Cleveland for tests and a second opinion.
She munched on some chips. Then she boarded the plane.
![Ashley Spencer was headed to the Cleveland Clinic for help with her auto-immune disease. It was a doctor from this clinic who ended up helping to save her life. Photo / Getty](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/MXKKKBOBC2OXFUX64NFK646R4M.jpg?auth=298d54192db296e072773b1435884e2fe70d797f82b371549cd580e3e4ff18fc&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
Spencer could not immediately be reached for comment yesterday, but a spokeswoman for the Cleveland Clinic said Spencer's condition makes her more sensitive to allergies and that Spencer suspects the chips she ate may have been fried in peanut oil.