You never know when your time will be up (Guest Post)

In 2011 I received some "Good Luck" wishes from a man named Mike (theBrainrunner) on Twitter.  I didn't know Mike, but we shared something in common... routine MRI's of the brain.  In 2008 Mike had a Brain Aneurysm that ruptured and today he is here to share his story.

Mike and his beautiful family

 You never know when your time will be up.

The day was November 3^rd 2008, as I sat at the breakfast table eating Frankenberry cereal with my kids, and preparing to go to work.  I finished my cereal and got up to go get in the shower. As I was attempting to get clean, the walls began to get fuzzy and hazy.  The next thing I remember was my wife trying to pull me up out of the shower. Evidently I had fainted. I remember being extremely cold and my head was throbbing like no other headache I’ve ever had. Somehow she managed to get me to the bed where she put some clothes on me.  She suggested that we go to the hospital because it wasn’t common for me to pass-out. I argued with her, but in the end she won out and called the paramedics without me knowing.
Somehow I ended up on the couch downstairs, not really knowing how I got there I thought to myself that maybe it was a good thing she called the paramedics. Somewhere in the fog that was my thought process I instructed her to call my work and let them know that I would be late. Her response was that she already did and told them I wouldn’t be in today at all. I work retail so this time of year is extremely busy and hectic and the thought of me not being there made me disappointed in myself. 

Approximately 15% of patients with aneurismal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) die before reaching the hospital. Most of the deaths from subarachnoid hemorrhage are due to rapid and massive brain injury from the initial bleeding which is not correctable by medical and surgical interventions. 

Once the paramedics arrived, I vaguely remember them asking all kinds of questions but the only one I really remember was when they asked me what I had taken. My response was “I don’t do that shit, I didn’t take anything.”  Then I was on a gurney being wheeled outside to the ambulance. Wow! The Sun was bright. It hurt my eyes and my head. I remember seeing my neighbors outside looking at me being loaded up in the ambulance and was embarased. On the ride to the hospital I was strangely aware of the turns and knew which hospital we were going to. My wife was up front, I think. I was in back strapped down to the gurney. I don’t remember the persons face who was in the back with me but I do remember them asking again “Ok, no one can hear but me, what did you take?” Annoyed and in pain I lashed out stating “I told you before, I don’t do that shit, I didn’t take anything” To me I yelled but later my wife told me she didn’t hear me say anything.I’ve heard stories of people having near death experiences and being able to see what’s happening as though they are a bystander. I always thought it was an odd statement, but I remember arriving at the hospital and as I was being wheeled through the corridors watching as though I was an onlooker and not really myself. Once in a room which seemed excessively small I told the nurse that I felt sick and she handed me one of those little nausea pans. I told her it wasn’t big enough and that I needed a bucket. She gave me something bigger and I immediately started throwing up.
Time from that point forward became very spotty, and I’m not sure how long it was before I was being told that I had a Brain Aneurysm that had ruptured. Evidently they had performed a scan of some kind on my head to determine this, but I don’t remember having it done.   

There is a brain aneurysm rupturing every 18 minutes. Ruptured brain aneurysms are fatal in about 40% of cases. 

Wow! The Sun is bright! Why was I outside? A Helicopter? I was being loaded into a helicopter to be transported to another hospital that could deal with my condition better. I remember the lift off, and being able to see the hospital below. 

I evidently arrived at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after a very expensive flight and was put in a Neuro-Critical Care room, and was promptly sedated.
My wife tells me that I was adamant about voting the following day and evidently she did what she could to allow me to do this. However, you need to be registered some time in advance to vote from the hospital, which I wasn’t. Until my surgery which happened on November 6^th, I recall very little. But evidently I had plenty of visitors, families, friends and people I’d not seen in a long time. Tammy (my wife) slept at the hospital many nights as the doctors were waiting for the swelling in my brain to subside enough for the surgery to be performed. The only real thing I remember of those three days was right before I went into surgery. I saw Tammy with her beautiful face right next to mine as I was being wheeled into the elevator prior to surgery. I remember having a moment of clarity where I gave her instructions on what to do in the event that I didn’t make it through the surgery successfully. Then I was out.
The next thing I remember was waking up on Sunday, 6 days after the rupture, and watching bits and pieces of the Colts and Steelers game on the television. However, I can’t even tell you if my Colts won or not. 

Of those who survive, about 66% suffer some permanent neurological deficit. 

 I spent a total of two weeks in the hospital recovering. I eventually was able to get out of bed and walk the halls with the help of Tammy and the aid of my IV holder thing. Eventually my little girls were able to come see me but I was afraid that the huge scar on my head where I had many staples would scare them. If they were scared they didn’t show it, they were as strong as there mom had been and all I saw in their eyes was love.
The recovery process was long, and sometimes painful. Back at home some of the medication I had to take made me nauseous and it felt like I had done a thousand crunches, my abs hurt so much from vomiting.  I was out of work for a total of 7 weeks, and was it not for the support of family we wouldn’t have made it through that time, because I did not have disability insurance. (I do now though)The following March I went back under the knife to allow the doctors to clip the other two aneurysms that were found (a total of three.) 

10 – 15% of patients diagnosed with a brain aneurysm will harbor more than one aneurysm.   

Since then I’ve made a full recovery and have had a follow up scan to make sure there are not any more aneurysms in my brain. I will also have to be scanned every five years as a precautionary measure. While lying in bed and recovering I made several promises to myself, and one of them was to make sure I live a healthier lifestyle. So in response I’ve re-kindled my love of running and have completed three half marathons and two full marathon. 

Live for today, enjoy your family and friends, and don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because you never know when your time will be up. 

theBrainrunner

Annie- Part 4

A few years ago, my Mother was diagnosed with 2 Brain Aneurysms.   This is the story of her journey.

For Part 1 of this Story click Here
For Part 2 of this Story click Here
For Part 3 of this Story click Here


She was amazing.  


My Mom fully recovered from her first surgery with very minor consequences; One (strangely enough) being her loss of smell, which eventually would slightly return. 


She regained full use of her eye which surprised everyone, including the surgeons. 


In between her two surgeries, my Mom returned to work.  During this time, my Husband and I found out we were expecting our first baby.  


We showed up unannounced to surprise my Mom with this cake I had baked,  And without saying a word, we watched and waited for her reaction.

It was amazing and definitely the best way to break the news to our families.


My Mom's second surgery date arrived and she made it through the surgery amazingly well. There were a few scares for us during her recovery such as slurred speech and loss of balance, and at the time I feared it could be a stroke.  Thankfully, it wasn't. 


2 Brain Surgeries.  No major consequences.
BRAIN ANEURYSM SURVIVOR, And I thank my lucky stars everyday!


During my Mom's surgeries, my Brother George had done a tremendous amount of reading about Brain Aneurysms, and insisted I ask my Doctor to be screened.  (Brain Aneurysms being hereditary, more common in women, and my few episodes of migraines during my pregnancy). 


I thought I would humour him (and my super-overly worried Mom) and I mentioned it to my Obstetrician during my next visit.  To be honest, I truly thought the Doctor would think it was crazy, but instead, he immediately booked me for an MRI to be screened.
  
Friday March 28th, 2008 
Week 27
Day 187 of Pregnancy 
I find myself laying in an MRI machine, not worried of the results, but terrified that I am having an MRI while pregnant and unnecessarily exposing the baby to a lot of unknowns.

A couple of weeks passed and thankfully I hadn't heard anything from the Doctor.  No news is good news!  I call my Brother and my Mom and tell them everything is fine, and joke that they will need to find something else to worry about.


My Husband (Mike) and I loved our Obstetrician (Mike came to every single Doctor's appointment with me during the pregnancy) and we spent most of the appointments laughing and joking with our Doctor.  


Wednesday April 16th, 2008
Week 30
Day 206
  
On our way in to the doctor's office, Mike and I were laughing and joking around about a conference he wanted to attend 2 weeks before my due date.  I thought he was crazy but I agreed we would leave it up to the advice of our doctor.

Me: 

"Mike wants to go away to a conference 2 weeks before the baby is due. Please tell him he can't go {Laughing}...

Dr:  

"Mike, You can't go"..

Me: 

"ha ha, told you so!"

Mike: 

{Laughing} "Really?  You really think it's pushing it if I go that weekend, even though it's 2 weeks before the baby"?

Dr: 

"Yes!  Mike, you can't go, because we have the baby scheduled for a c-section on June 10th".

Me: 

"Really?" {Confused} 

Mike: 

"What"? {Also Confused}

Dr: 

"Jen, we got the results to your MRI and you have a Brain Aneurysm, like your Mom".

To be Continued...


(Please note:  Although I did make the cake in this post, the design is not my own.  It is a replica of one I saw on Cake Central.  Thank you for visiting)

Annie-Part 3

A few years ago, my Mother was diagnosed with 2 Brain Aneurysms.   This is the story of her journey.

For Part 1 of this story click Here

For Part 2 of this story click Here

The Code-Blue announcement over the hospital intercom left us frozen in our spots, unable to move.


Doors flung open. Nurses came out from everywhere and headed towards the intensive care unit where my Mom had been taken to.  


I wanted to yell. 


I {So, Badly} wanted to yell at the nurses to run, but the words wouldn't come out of my mouth.  


The clock slowed down and the seconds ticked by. So. Incredibly. Slowly. As we waited for any kind of an update.  


At last, the door that led to the ICU, opened again and the nurses slowly trickled their way back out.


"False Alarm, she's fine," the nurse said.  The cord was accidentally unplugged when they were getting her in the room.


I wanted to punch her.  


One would think that finding out your Mom's heart never actually stopped beating would be a joyous moment.   And it definitely was, don't get me wrong.  The build up anxiety-stress-fear-worry, of the last few weeks-days-hours-minutes-seconds, left me feeling sick with an incredible urge to vomit.  Especially knowing that there was still a growing Brain Aneurysm, and she would undergo a second surgery and go through this hell again. 

Over the past month, the larger of my Mom's two Brain Aneurysms had been growing and pressing against her optic nerve.  By the time she was admitted to the hospital for her first surgery, she had lost the majority of her eyesight in one eye and was unable to open the eye without physically lifting the eyelid with her hand. A blessing in disguise as it was ultimately what lead to the discovery of the Aneurysms.  


The Neurosurgeons were not sure if the damage to her eye was reversible and if my Mom would regain use of her eye again.  At this point, we just felt so lucky that she was alive.


During her first Brain surgery, the larger Aneurysm had been clipped and my Mom was scheduled a couple of months later to have the second Aneurysm coiled. 

The wait between the two surgeries was hard on all of us, as it literally felt like she had a ticking time bomb in her head.  The news that I was pregnant was a little bit of a distraction for my Mom, giving her a {little} something to keep her mind off of the upcoming surgery.

To Be Continued...

  


  

Annie Part 2

A few years ago, my Mother was diagnosed with 2 Brain Aneurysms.   This is the story of our journey.

For Part 1 of this story click Here

The 40 minute drive home from the airport was agonizing. The frightening thoughts that were flowing through my head caused the tears to continually flow down my face.  


I was deeply terrified of losing my Mom.


I knew very little about Brain Aneurysms, and I wasn't aware that people could survive them without major consequences.  At the time, the only thing I knew was that my Mother would require brain surgery and that alone made me feel nauseated.


I finally made it home.  


I sat in the driveway for a few moments listening to the raindrops pound against the car.  {Attempting} to pull myself together, I walked in the house and went immediately to bed. 

I cried myself to sleep that night.


The next morning, I drove back to my Mom's house to be with her.  To console her and try to make her feel better about her recent diagnosis, but at the end of the day, she was consoling me.  


Funny how that works.

The following day (Friday) we went to meet the Neurosurgeon at the hospital to find out their intended course of action with regards to her 2 Brain Aneurysms.  


This was real.  


After meeting with the surgeon, my Mom was admitted to the hospital immediately.  Her surgery was scheduled for Sunday, but as a precautionary measure she would have to remain in the hospital in case of a sudden aneurysm rupture.     


The arrival of Sunday was bittersweet.  Knowing the risk of surgery was petrifying, but we were relieved she would finally be operated on. 

My Mom and I at my wedding.  3 months before the surgery

Unexpected Emergencies filled the operating room, and the surgeons were well beyond their duty day. Finally, at 9:00 pm we watched her being wheeled away on her stretcher.  Pit in our stomach and tears in our eyes.  


I don't think there is anything more agonizing in the world than waiting when someone is in surgery.


And waiting...  


And waiting...


We sat by the door that my Mom was supposed to be coming out from.  Every time the door opened, we would peek in as if it would make her come out faster.  She was the last scheduled surgery of the evening and it was well past midnight.


She finally came out.  


I was shocked when I saw her.  The bandage where they had shaved her hair.  Her eyes were still closed and there was a lot of swelling in her face.  


I'm not sure why I was surprised, but I was.


The surgery was successful, but they were only able to get one of the two aneurysms, which meant we would have to go through this whole ordeal again in the near future.


The surgeon told us my Mom would be taken to the intensive care unit, and we would be able to see her within half an hour. 


We felt a sense of relief.


This was short lived, when approximately 15 minutes later we heard 


"CODE BLUE, INTENSIVE CARE UNIT.  CODE BLUE, INTENSIVE CARE UNIT."  


We knew it was my Mom.


To be continued...

For Part 3 of this story click Here

Annie~part 1

A few years ago, my Mother was diagnosed with 2 Brain Aneurysms.   This is the story of her journey. 

Tuesday September 4th, 2007.

My mind is racing like crazy.


The opening of the aircraft door is like the gunshot signaling the start of a marathon.  The hum of rolling suitcases and the clicking of shoes through the airport terminal fills my head, and I can't think. 


Being stuck at work {on an airplane} for the past 12 hours, and having no communication with the outside world,  is enough to make you crazy when you have things going on at home.  Every second matters when you step off the aircraft.   


The race is on. The mad dash through the terminal seems agonizing, as the anticipation of this moment has been consuming me all day.


I need to get out of the airport.  I need to make the phone call.

My mother had an appointment earlier that day with a Neurologist, and I desperately needed to hear the diagnosis.

My beautiful Mother, Paty

The symptoms started a few weeks earlier (August 13th) during a family luncheon.  A mild, unusual headache would begin around lunchtime and last throughout the day, and in to the next.   


An appointment with the Doctor for an evaluation, would turn into many, and the diagnosis would change from one illness to another.  


During her initial visit with the Doctor, she was told it was nothing serious.  Advil or Tylenol, along with rest should do the trick.


And, the headache continued.

A day later, blurred vision would send my Mother to the hospital.  Following a CT scan which returned clear, she was sent home with a prescription for what they called a severe sinus infection.

By now the fear began to set in. 


She had Never experienced a sinus infection before, but my Mom was certain it was not her sinuses.  


Then came the diagnosis of a Migraine.

New symptoms were beginning to emerge and her vision was slowly becoming compromised.  Her left eye was gradually beginning to droop and by the end of the week she was unable to open it.

I began to feel sick, as suddenly there was the realization that there was definitely something, seriously, wrong.

It was now September 4th... 3 weeks since the initial headache began and she was diagnosed with the following.  Headache.  Sinus infection.  Migraine.  Optic Neuritis. And now the possibility of MS.


It wasn't until she was referred to an ophthalmologist who saw something wrong neurologically and he immediately sent my Mom for a MRI and a CT scan with contrast dye... and then on to a Neurologist.


I finally make it to my car...

"Mom, what did they say?"

"Well." She said.  "I have 2 brain Aneurysms"


Just like that.

My heart fell to the pit of my stomach.  I tried to keep my composure while on the phone, but as soon as I hung up, the tears began flowing, uncontrollably down my face.


To be Continued...

For Part 2 of this story click here