Brain Aneurysm Stories
A Tragic Loss
Here is the story of my tragic loss. On February 19, 2005, my brother found my mom lying on her bedroom floor unresponsive, in a pool of vomit and blood. She was rushed to one hospital that wasn’t equipped to handle that type of emergency, and then rushed to another one that supposedly could handle the situation. I had never heard of a brain aneurysm until it happened to my mother.
My mom lay in this hospital in a coma like state for a while. She was there for about two weeks and they decided to put a tube in her brain, which in my opinion only made her condition worse. She had thyroid problems, and she had high blood pressure before the aneurysm burst in her brain, so she was on medication for this and any other medicine that they felt she needed. My mom's face, arms, and legs were so swollen, she had foam coming out of her mouth as if she was having a seizure, and I cried because I had never seen her that way. Her head was shaved bald for the tube that was put in her head- it felt like a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from. The tube was supposed to help drain the blood in her brain, but it didn't.
I visited everyday and her condition was always the same. She would open her eyes briefly, and just when I would tell her hello- in hopes that she would smile and say hello her eyes would close again. I got a wonderful surprise when I went to visit though, because they had finally taken the tube out, and decreased the medicine she was on. She had just been bathed by her nurse and I walked in and her nurse asked her who I was, she looked trying to focus her eyes and she said " that's my baby girl", I was so happy and I had hopes that she might make it through it. That was the last time I heard her speak because right after she said that, I touched her hand and she looked at me for a few seconds and she was back in that comatose state again.
Nothing really changed much after that day, every visit she was pretty much the same- no conversation, just loud heavy breathing. Another week or so passed and the doctor's decided that they were going to operate to relieve the pressure on her brain, and try to stop the bleeding. I decided not to be there for the surgery, because I did not want to be there to hear any bad news.
They began the operation on the night of March 11, 2005. They began operating on her head, and just as they opened it they found blood clots, and she began to hemorrhage from the brain. My mom was considered brain dead and was put on a breathing machine soon after. All of my family met up at my grandmother's house, and it was there that I was told the bad news. That was the worst night of my life- one of my best friends was gone forever. All of my family met up the next morning at the hospital, because her pressure was dropping on the breathing machine, so we were all there to say our final goodbyes. The machine was constantly beeping, because her pressure would go up and down. My brother said his final goodbyes and left, it was too much to bear. I stayed hoping a miracle would happen and she would wake up, but it didn't happen. I couldn't stand it anymore, the machine just kept going up and down- so I said my goodbyes, gave her a kiss and a hug and with tears still streaming down my face- I left too.
I couldn't take sitting there waiting for the machine to just cut off, it was too much. I think my mom knew we were there, and I think she knew when my brother and I left. It's like she didn't want us to see her go that way, because right after I left the hospital her pressure got so low that the machine cut off. I had to go right back and release her body to the funeral home. It was harder seeing her this time, because now she wasn’t breathing- her lifeless body just laid there. I grabbed her hand and kissed her and told her goodbye for the last time. Losing my mom to this has been hard, she was only 49 years old and I had plans of giving her a big party for her 50th birthday which would have been October 14th, only she didn't make it.
I was really close to my mom, I always had somebody to laugh with, talk to, and I knew without I doubt that I was truly loved. We talked and laughed everyday about life, our problems, laughed about my kids-she was truly a good mother and grandmother, I miss her so much it hurts.
What kills me everyday is that my mom would be alive today had my father not hit her in her head and cause the aneurysm to burst. The night of the operation my mom was able to talk and she told my aunt what had happened the night before they found her. She said that they had gotten in an argument and he hit her in the head with his fist and, she said her head started hurting real bad, she threw up and she went lay down because she felt really sleepy. My dad left right after he hit her so no one knew- she laid there unconscious until the next day. My brother found it strange that she didn't answer the phone so he went to check on her and he found her and called 911. I have never been close to my father, even though he and my mom were married because he used to beat on her all the time. I would get her to leave him and come and stay with me, but she just kept going back. I would ask her why each and every time, but I knew why- she loved him. I would tell her that's not love, but she just kept going back. I think she didn't want to be a burden on me because she had her pride. I hate my father for what he did, and nothing will change that. I cry thinking about it because she might still be alive today if he had only kept his hands to himself. Mother's day is coming up yet again and my mother is gone and won't be coming back because of this. To those of you that have survived this- God bless you, you are truly blessed to still be here and you are in my prayers. To those of you that have lost a loved one to this- you are in my prayers and we will all reunite with those that we have loved and lost one day. Thank you for letting me share my story.
God Bless
Halaya
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Nothing on this website should, in any way be considered medical advice. It is presented as general information only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any type of medical condition. I am not a doctor, nurse, or any other type of medical or health care professional. Nor am I an expert on Aneurysms. However, I am an expert on the experience of having suffered a ruptured Aneurysm and the subsequent treatment I received. This site should not be considered to be, nor is it intended to be, a definitive source of information regarding Aneurysms. I have made every attempt to ensure the accuracy of any information presented here, but again, I am not a medical professional and my own interpretation of this information could be in error.