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