Im new and scared my mum has suffered SAH

[Guest Clare]

Hi all,

My mum was taken to hospital in the early hours, last Sat morning following a seizure. She lost conciousness and suffered 5 furthur seizures, after being anaesthetised a CT confimed a haemorrhage. She was then transferrred to a local Neurological HTU and stabilised.

Within the first day she was breathing alone and opening her eyes, all of her limb function was normal, and by Sunday she could identify her family. She just kept falling asleep and snoring

On Monday we were told she needed to have her ruptured anerysm coiled or mortality was certain within 3 weeks and shown the CT scan, I do not know what grade the haemorrhage was, but I know it took up at least 4 layers of the CT. During the coiling she suffered a stroke and was given Repro??? to rectify it.

By yesterday, she was about the have the line in her neck removed and had stopped the vague staring, although she was still very drowsy she was able to converse sufficiently and laugh. She has been eating really well since tuesday although she is being spoon fed, she can hold a cup and swallow tablets.

An xray has confirmed a chest infection and she is now on antibiotics for this.

I know vascospam could be major setback now, they have said she is at risk for 20 days??? if anyone could give me the facts about vascospasm it would be much appreciated. I believe its only a 25% chance of surviving the first month, why?

I know she has mended well so far but knowing she could still die is so painful, we are all suffering and it's been so hard keeping everything and everyone together. I am also 6 weeks away form having my second baby, my mum was so excited, I just pray she will be much better by then. Although my loved ones are a great support, I felt I needed help and advice form people who have been thorough this.

Thanks

Clare x

[AndyH]

Hi there Clare.

Firstly let me say how sorry I am about your mum. I know what you are going through. My wife suffered a SAH in May 2005. She was in a coma for nearly a fortnight. During the coma they clipped the aneurysm that had burst so she had a very lengthy operation. I think it took around 5 hours

Vasospasm can occur after SAH and after the operations. It can occur in the brain but also elsewhere in the body. As far as I am aware it is a narrowing of the arteries caused by all the trauma the brain has suffered. They counter this using medication and constant fluids. They give the fluids to raise blood pressure, I think (anyone reading this please correct me if I am wrong). There is still a risk of it reocurring but they do take measures to lower the risk and the nurses and doctors are constantly on the look out for it.

I wish there was something I could say to ease your suffering at this time. I can tell you this though. When Heather was admitted I was told there was NO chance for her. I was told if she made it through I probably wouldn't be able to look after her. The fact is, she is here with me 2 years later, she has her driving licence back and she is going to return to work in the future. So there is hope.

Take care.

Andy

[Guest Firefly]

I am so sorry to hear about you mom!! I know it is very scary and that she has a long road ahead of her!! She is very lucky to have survived the bleed! I had a rupture almost 2 years ago and I can tell you that is it going to take time, lots of love, prayers and patience for all of you to get through this.

I have a stent and coils next to my left optical artery. The brain takes a long time to heal, but she can hopefully heal with little long term effects! There is a lot of good info. on the WEB that can help. Just type in brain aneurysm in your search and you will find all kinds of info.

I can suggest a book my sister got me after I had mine, it explained a lot about aneurysm's and strokes. It is called "THE MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY WORKBOOK. It helped us a lot!!

Everyone is different and it just takes time to see how she will do, it sounds like she has made it through the hardest part.

Congratulations on having a baby, that will help her to have such a wonderful occasion to look forward too!!

Being an advocate for her heath care will be very important! Ask her Dr. to explain everything to you and take notes. I always had a list of questions for my Dr.!! A lot of Dr's don't offer up much info. unless you ask?? Knowledge is impowering!! I am sure you will get advice from others on the site! Might I suggest that she finds a good caring family practitioner who takes care of vascular patients. Such as strokes, heart attacks Aneurysm's... I went to a lot of specialist... before I found my Dr. and he has help me more than they did. The surgeons usually do the surgery and then cut you loose?? She may need a regular NS for follow up if she has complications?? She will need lots of sleep, the brain only really heals when it is "REM" sleep. She will be very fatigued for a long time. I still get worn out very quickly!! She shouldn't lift or strain, bend over or anything strenuos for a long time. Baby steps!!! I could barely do word circle books after mine but, her brain will need stimulation. Any kind of little games can help. Love and laughter, stories about the good fun times... Talk about the baby and all she has to look forward to will encourage her! Depression is a normal problem after this so she may need to get on a anti-depressant at some point? She will need to stay hydrated too, drinking lots of water will help. Eating a lot of dark fruits and veggies is good for the brain too. I have a big fruit salad in my fridge with lots of blueberries, strawberries, mango, passion fruit, blackberries...

There is a lot to learn and we will help you as much as we can!! I will look up some good sites for you and try to help, that book is a good start.

I will be keeping your Mom and your family in my prayers. Love goes a long way and she will need it! God bless her and your baby!!! I will write soon when I get some info. for you

I have come a long way in 2 years as I too had complications, but I am a survivor and I am getting better as time goes on. I know this is very hard to deal with in the begining sweetie. We will try to help you get through it! I am praying for you all!! Take care and keep us posted! Tricia

[Karen]

Hi Clare,

I'm really sorry to hear about your Mum and her setbacks. Scott on this site is probably one of the best guys that you can talk to, as he also suffered a stroke during the coiling procedure. Scott's story is on the homepage.

I can't really help too much about the vasospasm, as I didn't have it.....but I'm sure that there's a few here that did suffer it. Don't get too scared by the percentages that you read about, as they'll give you nightmares .... I know they had that affect on me and it will just cause you more mental trauma and anguish... It was another reason why this site was set up, as I scared myself silly with endlessly trawling the internet for answers. If you need any help, you'll probably be better just to come here and post, as there's a wealth of people with personal knowledge and everybody is very different as to how the SAH affected them, so there's bound to be at least one person that can help.

You can expect your Mum to be drowsy and you'll probably find that each day can be very different. I can remember barely being able to hold a conversation without nodding off through it. I suppose that the cocktail of drugs and the fact that the brain needs to start to recover is the major factor for this. Fatigue is quite an issue with a lot of us still, but it gets better with time.

Vasospasm is normally controlled by the drug Nimodipine and they monitor you in hospital for it, using a Doppler machine (if I'm remembering this correctly) You continue on Nimodipine for quite a few weeks after the SAH. Has your Mum shown any signs of Vasospasm or are you just worried about what you've read?

Your Mum is eating and drinking, which is a good sign ... can I ask how old she is?

Clare, my best piece of advice would be, not to internet trawl too much ... take one day at a time and ignore the statistics, as they'll do nothing but make you more worried and there's a lot of us on here, that are proof that you can survive the journey. Also, don't worry about asking the medics in hospital, the questions that you need answering about your Mum. Hannah on this site, is another good person to talk to, as she's been through the mill with her own Mum and I think that she's quite an expert on the subject now!

You also need to look after yourself too and as a Mum myself, it was knowing that I had my family to come home to, that spurred me on through my time in hospital .... it was really important to me, that I knew that everybody was as okay as they could be in the circumstances and that I didn't need to worry and I could just concentrate on getting better.

Sending hugs to you .....

[Guest Hannah]

Hi Clare,

I'm so sorry to hear about what you and your mother are going through, your account brings back so many memories. My mother was 47 when she had her haemorrhage last September and is still in hospital. The thing with SAH is to know that they affect everyone differently and with different severity.

My mum didn't actually have a very severe bleed and although she had a a severe headache and was unwell, she didn't lose conciousness so was able to be operated on soon after being transferred to the regional neuro centre. When mum came around from the operation, she still had an enormous headache but was quite clear and orientated. All along we warned that vasospasm was a risk, and (probably like your mum) she was put on nimodopine (a calcium channel block drug) which strengthens the walls of the arteries to try and stop vasospasm from happening.

The doctors don't really know why vasospasm happens in some people and not others but it is basically the brains reaction to knowing that there is blood from the bleed outside of the arteries. This causes the cell walls to tighten up causing vessel spasm "vasospasm" restricting blood flow.

The trouble with this complication is that is doesn't start until about 4-10 days after the bleed, nimodopine is started pretty much immediately after surgery to and if it does happen its just a case of waiting it out up to 21 days (although strangely it was about 28 with my mum).

IF this does happen you will know. Your mum will become confused and disorientated and may lose feeling in some of her limbs or have difficulty with her speech. Again, IF, this happens your mum is likely to be transferred to a high dependency unit so that they can monitor her more closely. The treatment for vasospasm is called triple H therapy, which means increasing her dose of nimodopine, increased amount of fluids going into to her through her lines (the less sticky and more watery the blood is, the easier it passes through the constricted arteries) and hypertension, artificially increasing her blood pressure to force the blood throught the constricted arteries.

The whole treament of vasospasm is to ensure that blood reaches all parts of the brain stop a stroke happening. The morbidity statistics in the first month are usually related to stroke.

It is going to be tough and you just need to hang on in there for the first few weeks for your mum to be able to reassure her. The most awful part of the first few weeks is the not knowing what the outcome might be. It's difficult, but try not to dwell on the statistics too much and cope with what you can see with your own eyes.

This is easier said than done because the statistics are so stark but if you do think about them, think how well she is doing. She is still with you, she has made it through so much already and as you'll have read the statistics for immediate survival make difficult reading in themselves - but she's already come this far.

The vasospasm is by no means a certainty - I think I'm right in thinking that it hasn't affected the majority of the posters on this board. It is just something that you need to be aware could happen. I think alot of people will say try to focus on what IS happening rather than what could happen, but as a close relative I understand how difficult this is, and it jsut so happens that in our case everything that they said could happen did happen :?

Unfortunately, infections seem to be part of the hospital stay. Chest infections are incredibly common because your mum is not moving around and clearing her chest. A plus point is although these can be uncomfortable for the patient the strong antibiotics will clear this up. I think my mum had two chest infections, a number of water ones and a blood infection caused by her central line.

Make sure that you take care of yourself and feel free to pm me if you want to chat.

Hannahx

[rince]

Hi,

Not a lot I can add to what others have already said. Time is the great healer and we're not talking short amounts of time we're talking an almost indefinite time.... Sorry to sound so negative but count the positives you still have your Mum and the likelyhood is that you will have for a good while yet. As Karen said I had almost an identical clinical history, and I'm still here four years later!

Scott

[Karen]

Hiya,

Hannah, great common sense advice .....

I find that the statistics tend to vary greatly ... some of the morbidity rates are horrendously high on some of the things that you read and on other sites they can be about a lot less..... I think that you have to be very careful not to get too stressed out about the figures.....I know that I nearly drove myself mental when I viewed some of them....think that it actually held back my recovery to a degree, as I was totally stressed out by them. It took me about a year post SAH to finally put things into perspective and see some sense! Sometimes, ignorance can be bliss..

Clare, I know that Tricia has mentioned depression, but again, not everybody has it or has to take anti depressants and your Mum is very early on her recovery and it's best to take each day as it arrives and only deal with matters as they happen. Not many of us are carbon copies of each other.

[Guest hellie]

Hello Clare,

This time last year I was in the same boat as you. My mum (56 at the time) had a SAH, she also had coiling followed by a stoke just like your mum. I know how heart breaking it is to see your Mum like this. I too spent alot of time searching the internet trying to find out what had happened and what to expect, but like Karen said you must not think these things are going to happen to your Mum. Everyone seems to be different.

My Mum was in Frenchay Hospital for about 10 days, and then back to our local hospital for 5 days then home. She was very lucky and regained all her mobility. The staff at Frenchay were wonderful and would answer any questions we had, so dont be afraid to ask.

This website has been an enormous help to me, I only wish I had found it when my Mum was in hospital.

My mum is now back at work part time and driving again.

I hope all goes well for you both.

all my best wishes

Hellie

[Karen]

Hi,

Clare, forgot to say that the anti epilepsy drugs that they give you to control the seizures, can also make you feel quite bombed out and a bit spacey.....so it's a double whammy with the fatigue. I had seizures when I first had the bleed and one more after the coiling. None since, thank goodness and I came off the AED's 10 months after the SAH.

[Guest Clare]

Thankyou so much everyone for all of your replies they really help, today is another of my "resting days", and plus I have a 2 year old keeping me busy , the enormity of the situation still hasn't hit me yet. I'm having moments where I just sit there and cry and pine for my mummy, sounds silly doesn't it! Then I have these other moments where I think "that's it there's nothing more I can do if she's going to die then so be it", how awful does that sound. The pregnancy hormones only exacerbate my emotions.

Yesterday mum was doing well, she has sent me off to the hospital shop to buy her papers and magazines, she has a headache I told her this was normal, I keep feeding her snippets of info about what has happened and what she is likely to experience, but no more than she asks for, she still has no idea of how serious this was or that she could still suffer a stroke. She is moaning and says she just want's to get up and move. She still doesn't have the line in her neck out, she is taking so many tablets she's begun to rattle.

After coiling she menstruated which has now finished, which for me was quite a good sign. She is also on laxatives, and they just tell her to "go" as she is, which she is finding quite degrading. Her humour is back too, we have had comments like "It isn't easy to poo yourself you know?", she has also been telling me how much the daily visits from my nan have been annoying, because my nan talks rubbish and she has been pretending to be asleep so she would stop talking. The highlight of her days at the moment is choosing off tomorrow's menu.

The nurse explained that they don't want to get her up to soon or she could suffer another bleed. She will continue on Nimopidene for 21 days and she is being monitored for signs of Vasospasm, although they have reduced her intravenous fluids and are encouraging her to drink more.

AndyH - it's fab to hear how well your wife is.

Firefly - thanks for the book suggestion I will track it down. I have done lots of research already and keep pushing doctors for more info, I think they are suprised about how much I know. I have been assured that she will have Neuro check-ups for a long time to come, the sleeping is annoying her, it's quite sweet though, she has a newborn sleep pattern, I am stimulating her at the moment by asking her simple questions about her day so far and having a good gossip. She did suffer from depression about 10 years ago, so I'm hoping this won't return, I will try to keep her spirits up and I'm sure the children will play a major part in this. Funnily enough she was addicted to blueberries before this, I don't think she'll mind eating more. Thanks for all the help.

Karen - I have already realised that the internet was quite dangerous and it was making me worse, with all the frightening statistics I was reading, that's when I turned to this site. Mum hasn't shown any signs of vasospasm, but I know she is at risk and this could be what does the damage from now, so I just wanted to know all about it to be prepared for any eventuality. She is 44. She is having the anticonvulsants and the nurse has said she could be on them for some time. She hasn't had any seizures since that first night so I am hoping they will stay at bay.

Hannah - I hope your mum is mending well, and you are keeping strong. Apparently my mums bleed was a 2 if 1 is tiny and 5 the biggest, she's 9 days on from the initial bleed. She's already in a HDU and is being checked every 2 hours they seem to be very aware that vasospam is her biggest threat and reassure me they are on top of it. They are still keeping her bp up she's hitting 150 / 80 the highest which is high for her. I'm so sorry your mum had the complications she did. Can I ask, did your mum actually have vasospasm? Thankyou for all your advice.

Scott - I appreaciate your honesty, thankyou.

Hellie - I am praying my mum recovers as well as yours.

Again thankyou for all of your responses it's I'm so relieved to be talking to others who have been in the same situation. I wish you all the best.

[AndyH]

Am glad to hear that your mum is picking up. I reckon those crying jags you are having are normal so I wouldnt worry too much about them.

Look after yourself!!

Andy

[Karen]

Hi Clare,

From what you're saying, it sounds as though your Mum is doing pretty well

Glad that you're having a rest day .....

I can also remember how horrified I was, when I asked to go to the loo and they produced a bedpan for me to use in the bed and lying down? Well, if you've ever tried to open you bowels, lying down with a pair of cotton curtains protecting your dignity + visitors everywhere .... hmmm and actually managed it, then you're a better person than I am! My bowels and brain refused to let me do so, until they finally agreed to take the catheter out and I could hobble to the loo. I think that they give everbody laxatives after a SAH, it's par for the course...as they don't want you to strain. Hope that you've eaten lunch!

I'm the same age as your Mum .... how funny about your Nan! My own Mum is very similar to your Nan and is the same re: talking rubbish .... I'm afraid that my patience just used to go in the hospital and I would also shut my eyes .... don't think that they realise that when you've just been faced with your own mortality, that you find the "small stuff" irrelevant.

Anyway, from your post, I think your Mum sounds as though she's doing pretty good, especially if she's asking for newspapers and mags, that's a good sign.

PS. there's nothing wrong with pining for your Mummy ... totally, natural and nobody is ever too old to feel that way.

Hope that you can rest easy and try not to worry too much .... easier said than done, I know.

Say "Hi" to your Mum from me and give her my best wishes ....

[Skippy]

Hi Clare

Glad that your mum is improving - I was out of it completely for about two days after my op - coiled and the aneurysm is about 4mm I think (you can see my brain scan in the photo album). I was also warned about the vasospasm and was on Nimopodine for 21 days after the op. I was spaced out most of the time and in and out of sleep for the first few days. It is natural after something like this - rest and recouperation are the best things for your mum now - along with tea and sympathy of course

I'm 36 and I still miss my mummy if I don't see her

Keep us all posted on how your mum's doing and remember we'll always be here to help in anyway we can and give any advise and support you need.

Takre care sweetie - you have the little one within and the 2 year old to think about too so make sure you have plenty of 'you' time also.

Give your mum our love and best wishes

Sami xxx

[bogbrush]

Hi Clare

Sounds like your Mum is doing OK.

She seems to be following a similar recovery to myself (except the menstruation bit!) Like Sami, I was completely out of it for the first couple of days and when I came round I recognised my wife and brother-in law straight away, which they said was a good sign.

Don't worry if some days she seems less lucid than others - I was like that. Some days I could hold a reasonable conversation and others I was very sleepy and not really aware of anything going on. As for talking rubbish, It was me doing most of that apparently. I have to laugh now when my wife tells me some of the things I said!

After a few days, I got a bit fed up with the constant questions "What day is it?" "Who's the Prime Minister?" etc. One day, the question changed to "What's the name of the Queen?" so I answered "Why, it's 'Queen' of course ... first name 'The'. That's when they realised that my sense of humour was intact!

About the bowel movements ... like Karen, I was given a bedpan but couldn't use it and by the time I was transfered back to my local hospital and could get out of bed to use a commode, I had contracted C-Diff in a rather explosive manner! At least I got a side room all to myself!!!

Hope things continue to improve.

Regards

Keith

[Guest Hannah]

Hi Clare,

It does sound like your mum's doing well. Yes, my mum did have vasospasm. She had a number 2 bleed but they mentioned after they did the clipping that there was alot of blood around so they kept her in HDU, I think they were expecting it to be honest. In the 6 weeks I sat in the NCCU/HDU other patients who had had the same thing done seemed to only be kept down there a few days then they were sent back up onto the neuro wards.

Mum's vasospasm started about 5 days after her operation. As you will know the nurses come round and do neuro obs quite regularly in between these dad and I kept checking (just call me Dr Hannah!) it was whilst we were doing this we realised that she couldn't move her left side. We thought she was messing about because her sense of humor had returned straight after the op but then she started making less sense and we had such comments as 'go and see your nan, she's in the bed opposite' and 'can you see the baby dinosaur on top of the curtain rail' and my personal favourite a whole rendition of the Carpenters 'close to you'.....

Well she was whizzed back next door to the NCCU and they put her blood presssure up to 200/100. During the whole of this period of time (28 days) she had to lie flat. So... bowels were also a problem. To put it bluntly she just didn't. No matter what they did. In 5 weeks!

Everyday they did something called a transcranial doppler which measures the speed of the blood flow along the main arteries in the temple. Once the vasospasm starts its quite difficult to find out when it has stopped, the responses the neuro obs/movement didn't get better until a couple of months later well after the vasospasm had stopped.

On the same note - we had pretty much the same deal with my nan. Although with less talking and more tearful staring....

Take care

Hannahx

[Karen]

Hi Hannah and Keith,

Hannah....lovely picture by the way!

Glad it wasn't just me that had a bowel problem! It's quite surprising how long you can go without feeling the need to do one .... I think the sight of a bedpan was enough to do it for me and even though I wasn't very compus mentus at the time, I still had enough control of my faculties to realise that it really wasn't going to happen!

Forgot to say, that breaking wind on our ward became the norm .... if I'd felt better at the time, I probably would have roared with laughter...

anyway, enough toilet talk from me....

[Guest Hannah]

Hi Clare,

I meant to say earlier, the nurses told me the mentruation apparently happens to all women after the surgery... something to do with the shock to the system.

Karen - I thought that perhaps I should make the effort, I have had a digital camera for 4 years and I have precisely two pictures of myself looking gormless and the one that I've set up, which if I remember correctly - I was very drunk....

Take care all

Hannahx

[Guest Hannah]

and another thing... (I should really gather my thoughts before pressing 'post reply')

I notice that you're in Essex Clare, does that mean your mum is in Addenbrookes in Cambridge?

Hannahx

[Guest Clare]

Apparently, the doctors came round today and the only person there to witness it was my blithering nan, so I doubt the information I got out of her was complete or correct.

She told me that mum had been up and sat in a chair today, although she is having problems with movement in her right leg, but the doctor said this was due to the blood remaining in her brain and that it will heal.

The doctor also said that her bleed should have killed her it was so severe, so I don't know who's telling the truth at the moment because that isn't what the nurse said.

Karen - My mum didn't realise she had been catheterised until I asked her "didn't she notice she hadn't weed for 4 days?", she seemed to ignore that though and told me yesterday that she was looking around the ward and noticed everyone else had a bag of p*** hanging on the bed, then realised she had one

Sami - you have a very pretty brain, as far as brains go. will make sure I have plenty of me time.

Bogbrush- please no more info on C-Diff I really dont want to think about anything else she could contract in that place

Hannah- I'm pleased your mum fought through the vasospasm, thanks for all the info.

My dad is visiting her as I type, so I will be back with more info and accurancy on her condition and the prognosis tonight.

Thanks Again

Clare xxx

[Guest Clare]

Hannah, my mum was in King Georges which is a normal hospital in Ilford.

On day 2 was transferred to a brand new hospital called Queens in Romford, it's like a shopping mall, very trendy. They have a Neuro HDU (where mum is) combined with a Neuro ITU. Neuro doctors are also on call all the time and dedicated to these units and a down- step Neuro Ward, so I'm pretty pleased this happened after it opened.

What I don't like is that the whole thing is open plan, so you are seeing RTA victims on life support and SAH sufferers who really haven't been lucky at all, it's a very haunting place. Not as haunting as the awful relatives room though

But my dad was born at Addenbrooks some 62 years ago.

[Slim]

Hi Hannah,

Glad your Mums making an improvement, as everyone says its still very early days, i was on Nimodipine two no vasospasm, but i think I had to come off it early as it give me a high temp. One thing everyone told me is its still early days. I'm 7months, I was home at christmas and I was really out of it, even on St Patricks day (March) I thought I was fantastic but I've made a massive improvement since then. I think I posted that I know I'll never be 100% again, but now I'm like to hell with that, I'm at 99% and improving.

I know we all heal differently and your Mum has a long way to go, at one point I had about at 3min memory, but time definetly is a great healer. Hope you and junior are doing well, love to your mum and take care.

Aine xox

[Guest Hannah]

Hospital sounds very plush - I forgot about the relatives room - in Addenbrookes it was the size of my kitchen and contained the family and friends of 28 desperately ill patients... horrendous

The NCCU there was open plan too, mum was at the far end so I had to walk past everyone trying not to intrude by looking at people for too long.

My knowledge of Cambridge isn't great but I think 62 years ago your dad may have been born in a building that is now a 'Browns' restaurant!

Hannahx

[Karen]

Hi Clare,

I started my period a few hours after I went into hospital.... I wasn't due, but they said it can happen due to the shock. However, after the SAH, I went for 3 months without having one at all ... I have mentioned SAH and periods on the homepage ..... I was told that it was due to the upset of hormones etc..... mind you, at that time, I was quite glad not to have them...

I can remember the Nurse trying to put the catheter in and saying, "oh you poor thing, you've started your period as well" .... At that point, I was wondering what else could happen and then promptly nodded back off to sleep. How funny with your Mum not realising that she didn't have a bag! Good job that they do put in a catheter, with the amount that they make you drink, otherwise you'd be calling for a bedpan every couple of minutes...

I also hated having bed baths .... bet your Mum feels the same .... I can remember that I kept asking, could I please get up and have a shower, as I really wanted to wash my hair....think the nurses thought that I was mad when I was in HDU and they were probably right! But, the first shower that I finally had, felt sooo very good....

When I first got up, I had to have the help of two nurses.....it's surprising how weak you are when you first try to get up and onto your legs. I had temporary paralysis down my left side, so as my right side was stronger, it kept pulling me over. I still have a weakness on that side, but it has improved and I know that I could always be worse than I am.

Hope that you get good news this evening......take care....

[Guest Clare]

Ok so my dad called after he got kicked out at 7:30, and had been speaking to the ward sister.

Mum is having a CT tomorrow to check that the coiling is right and make sure she's at no further risk. She has been disconnected from all of her lines now and they are removing her catheter tomorrow.

They are saying that she now needs to build up strength, but will probably be sent back to the original hospital she was admitted to before the weekend. They don't think she will be there long either.

My dad was planning to use her hospital stay to complete the decorating that had been started beforehand, but things appear to be moving faster than expected.

I am now worried because I don't think she can possibly be ready to leave a Neuro unit and be farmed back home surely if she is at risk of vasospasm and rebleeds. I pray they know what they are doing, but feel they are rushing things slightly or is this all relatively normal for someone who is so unscathed by the ordeal????

Hannah - my mum is at the far end too and I have t walk past all of these really ill people, I try not to look but cannot seem to help myself, partly because I'm nosy, but mainly because I want to see if they've improved. In the relatives room people cannot help but discuss their realtives issues, so everyone can hear. I let dad know the old Adenbrooks is now a restaurant.

Slim- Early days, I know.

Karen- Thanks for explaining the period thing, I will have to make sure mum gets onto the site when she is better as I know it will help her. My mum had conjuctivitus as well, which I then caught, but I didn't mind, I felt close to her in a way. We were sharing eye goo

The nurse looking after mum for the past 3 days has given her cold bed baths, despite my mum complaining she doesn't seem to care.

So can someone now tell me (as we seem to be moving rather quickly). What are the risks of this happening to mum again, she will be having regular checks and I presume these will be forever??

Also how quickly do I have to be checked, I presume they cannot do anything until I've had the baby. Also at what age should my 2 year old daughter be checked???

[AndyH]

HI Clare,

I have been told that my 9 year old could be checked around his thirties, but not to worry. The chances of him having an aneurysm are very small.

As for reocuurence I have no idea. Heather was told that she is just as much at risk as anyone else now.

Anyway got to go.

See ya!

Andy