Guest redsally Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I was 39 years old and in good shape and it was Mother's Day weekend and I was out of town with a girlfriend, this was an annual trip we went on to celebrate Mother's Day. I live in St. Louis, MO and we were in Venice, FL. On Friday 5/11 we went out to dinner and then headed to our favorite bar to listen to music, we wanted to get there early so we could get a good spot. We weren't drinking and the bartenders were making fun of us. All of the sudden I got a terrible heahache. My friend noticed I touched my head and leaned over and asked what was wrong. I just told her it was a terrible headache. A few seconds later and my hand started shaking. My friend went into action immediately and had 911 called. The paramedic was there within 5 minutes, small town. I met the paramedic a few weeks ago for a follow-up and thank you and he said I talked to him, actually screamed about my headache. I remember none of this. They took me to the ambulance and intubated me, it seemed that was difficult and took over an hour outside the bar in the ambulance. My friend was beside herself and the paramedic, Randy, came to get my husband's number and she could hardly remember, once she did she gave it to him and he called my husband. He rang my husband and asked if anyone had called him yet, remember he was in St. Louis and I was in FL, a 2 1/2 hour flight. He said no and then Randy began to fill him in on what he knew, which was not much at this point. However, he did tell my husband that he was not sure I would make it and to head to FL immediately. They got me to the Venice Hospital and did a CT scan and found the aneurysm. Ths ER doc knew he couldn't help me so they stabalized me and worked on a plan to move me to another hospital. The E doc called my husband also and relayed the same message that he didn't think I would make it and to get my family to FL. This was about 6PM and my husband started searching for flights, found one for the next day. The next day they transported my from Venice to Tampa FL, about 1 hour and 15 minutes away by ambulance. They could not airlift me due to fires in the state of FL. They started my surgery in Tampe and attempted coiling, but I got a rebleed and they had to do a craniotonomy to clip the left posteroinferior cerebellar artery PICA aneursym that was stage IV. I stayed in ICU for about 6 weeks, I was the patient in there the longest and I was the youngest. I had pheumonia twice while there and kept pulling out catheters and other stuff. I was then moved to the rehab, once in rehab started getting headaches and was diagnosed with hydrocephalus. They operated again to put in a shunt and back to ICU. Not sure how long, but I then went back to rehab and then got better fast. I still remember nothing to this point. Friend and family were there the whole time but I remember little if nothing. I did hallucinate some. In rehab I started walking right away, but I had lost 30 pounds and was on a feeding tube(vocal cord paralysis from surgery) and was very weak. I started remmebering stuff and just wanted to go home. I went home, had to fly, on July 3rd. I had been in the hospital for 53 days. My husband and kids, 13 yr old girl and 10 yr old boy, had the whole summer without me. My husband did a great job with everything, how hard to handle everything for that long and worry about your wife dying. After coming hom did outpatient therapy for about 2 months. I feel like I am doing great and I think the docs are all amazed I am alive. The only reamining issues are: DVT in right arm, fatigue, balance issues, blurry vision and vocal cord paralysis. I know I should be thankful that I am alive, but I really just want my old life back. I am not working yet, my job was stressful and required lots of communication. I can't talk very loud due to vocal cord paralysis. I can't work out as the doc is worried about blood pressure rising and making the brain swell. Not that I worked out that much but I had started in Jan of same year and it kept me busy on the days I didn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Hey there Welcome to the site and the family. Glad that you're on the road to recovery. Any time you wanna scream, shout or cry or have a laugh, we're all here. Catch you soon. Sami xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Hi there And welcome to the site, I had just turned 40, 3 months before I had my SAH..... Hope to hear from you again soon. Louise.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Hiya Welcome to the site, it's a great place! Really pleased to hear that you feel you're doing well, I think your feelings are all perfectly normal. You're still only a few months down the line from your SAH (if I've read the date right) and it's likely that things will continue to change over time. Good luck Blondie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Hi Ya Welcome to the site. Aine xox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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