never so thankful... (part 2)
I’ve been home for over 3 days now and am pleased to report I am feeling better and better as time goes on. I’m getting plenty of rest and am eating well while taking a number of medications. All in all, I am recovering and doing what is necessary to continue doing so at a pretty good pace. Life is good. Following is what happened in a nutshell.
On November 22, I was standing at the sink in my bathroom when I felt dizzy and collapsed to the floor. I’m not sure how long I was down but it seemed I went down to my knees while reaching out to the toilet to catch myself and came right back up to a standing position. I felt massive pain and pressure across my forehead and extreme tightness in my neck. Apparently, I had experienced a ruptured cerebral aneurysm and spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage, defined as bleeding into the space between the brain and the middle membrane covering the brain.
After briefly considering my options, I called Kim at work and told her to get home as soon and as safely as possible. I got dressed and ready to go and she got home pretty quick. We went to the emergency room of our hospital of choice closest to home and after talking to us for just a few minutes and performing a quick CT scan, the ER physician gave instructions quickly to several personnel around us and we were quickly rushed via ambulance to another hospital known for its expertise in the area and I underwent a non-invasive surgical procedure called endovasular coiling that blocked the blood flow through the aneurysm. My understanding is that the platinum coils were used to arrest the bleeding and stabilize my situation.
A few hours later, I woke up and Kim was there in front of me smiling. “I think we’re gonna be okay baby.” She was right.