Hi all, this is my first post. I had a subarachnoid hemorrhage in July, treated with a coil. 2 unruptured Annie’s were then treated with a clip (craniotomy) and another coil and a stent for the other unruptured one.
I am extremely lucky to be on track for a full recovery (fingers crossed).
One thing that bothers me as I have no memory of the 12 hours or so between arriving in emergency and waking up in the neuro unit right before my first procedure. Apparently I was talking the whole time but not making sense.
Anyway, I arrived in emerg around noon but they didn’t do a CT until the evening maybe 6 or 7 pm. I know I told the paramedics I had felt something burst in my head and I thought I might be having a stroke. However it still took them several hours befor that first arrival and finding the annie.
I guess I’m wondering why that took as long as it did, although the answer may be simply a busy or overloaded hospital emerg. Or the fact that I seemed to be conscious and talking?
I’m also wondering just generally if the reason I didn’t suffer more cognitive damage could be that I had a “slow leak” as opposed to a massive rupture.
Anyway I realize that I am incredibly lucky and I’m grateful for my recovery. Big shout out to everyone on this forum as I have benefitted greatly from all your posts and collective wisdom. I wish everyone well this holiday season.
You’re a lucky girl and so was I. I don’t know what the reason was at your hospital but the reason they gave my sister at mine is that I was verbal. If not for my sister, I probably wouldn’t be here. I went into the ER by ambulance - I remember struggling to reply to the ambulance tech with football banter.
It was cold, they had me in the hallway of the ER, I woke when my best friend told me my mom and sister were on the way and again when they arrived. Apparently, my sister told me later I was talking incessantly the whole time - not making sense but talking nonetheless. She pitched a fit about the CT and then no one knew where I was for hours. No one told my family they were taking me to surgery for a subarachnoid hemorrhage on one side and an unruptured annie on the other.
My memory ended in the hallway when my family arrived and began again when I woke up in neuro ICU whenever that was.
So I’m not sure if that makes you feel any better about your lost time but it happened to me too.
I’m very thankful for the people in this forum for keeping me relatively sane over the years and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holiday!
Did your sister pitch a fit because you didn’t have a CT yet or about the result of the CT?
My husband wasn’t allowed to be with me (Covid rules) so nobody knows what happened during those critical early hours. That bothers me a lot but I think it’s just my mind going back and trying to protect myself. Apparently I told people I had a crushing headache but I still wonder what took so long for the CT scan to be ordered. Oh well. I know I’ll have to let go of this question at some point soon. Thanks again for your response.
She pitched a fit because no CT had been done. I probably arrived at the ER around 7:30 or 8 a.m. My family arrived around 9 or so as they were all the way across town about to sit down to breakfast. lol To answer your P.S., I don’t know what was signed. I think by the time the CT was done and they figured out what was going on, it was kind of urgent.
I’m just really happy it didn’t happen the day before. I would have been in a hotel room in Phoenix and probably would have ruined some hotel cleaning person’s day.
@LauraE
Congratulations to your second lease of life. I am a ruptured brain aneurysm survivor and you can read my story in my profile.
I think the question why it took so long time for a CT to be performed is best answered when you will have a follow up appointment with your surgeon.
Regarding the amnesia, I have that too, I remember everything up to a certain time, I was sitting on the floor by our entrance door throwing up and waiting for my husband to come home and the ambulance to arrive. I remember that I was thinking if I lay down, I’m going to die because my head hurt so much😢 and after that only spotty memories from the two weeks that followed in the neuro icu. For example I was life lifted by helicopter to a hospital with neurosurgery, I don’t remember anything about that.
I was allowed to use my phone in the hospital after the surgery, and I have tried to put the pieces together by reading the conversation I had with my husband when he was at home, I also sent emails and used FaceTime with my closest friend. I don’t remember anything about this, it’s scary.
It helped me a lot to read my medical records that I have in my patient portal. This slowly helped me to put the pieces together. Maybe you can do this too, the emotional healing takes time and it doesn’t go hand in hand with the physical healing.
Best of luck to you in your recovery.
Thank you so much for your reply.
Yes I’ve read my medical record but unfortunately I think it took them several hours just to admit me and my husband wasn’t allowed to be with me until I was admitted.
The problem with asking my surgeons is they were at a different hospital (like you) and once they finally did the CT scan they rushed me to the hospital where the brain surgeons were.
So the surgeons probably don’t know what happened in those critical first hours.
I also find it rare to get the chance to talk to my surgeons as they are so busy and I’m had a remarkable recovery. I do talk to the physicians assistants but they likewise are unsure what happened in emerg. They don’t seem to think the wait was that long but several hours to get a ct scan seems long to me!
You’re absolutely right that the mind and emotions take longer to heal. I find myself still working on incorporating this into my mental reality🤣
Again, thank you for your reply. I appreciate it very much and wish you well (from snowy canada!)
Here I thought I was a miracle, you sure have me beat, good for you!
When I ruptured around 1630 hours, I have full recall from dropping my good Japanese saw on the cellar floor then I passed out trying to get up the stairs. Woke up, called BH and then 911. I remember the first responder jumping the ditch and running to me, (God love him, he kept me focused on my breathing and told the first paramedic that I wasn’t stoned😂) the EMS folks and the Lt pulling off my pants and asking if he knew me🫢, then when the ambulance pulled over as they couldn’t get an IV in. I have no recollection of the ED but they say I was talking. BH wasn’t allowed back in for a couple of hours and tried to tell them I talked in my sleep but to her frustration they wouldn’t acknowledge what she kept trying to say. Didn’t wake up (to me) until they were loading me in the helicopter and a couple of times during the flight. From what I can tell, they did the CT within the hour but waited until around 2130 to get me on the helicopter as I had to be stabilized. I had my first coiling the next morning at 0730.
I know during the pandemic our hospitals were very short staffed and patients were backed up. When we are on the receiving end of care, we really do want to know why something takes so long. Having been called to the ED numerous times in my career, certain days are more hectic than other days it seems and the staff can be a bit overwhelmed couple that with the pandemic it was a nightmare for our local hospitals and patients that needed more specialized care were being flown out of our State. They may have been short on Radiology techs that do the images is what I can think of.
Personally, I couldn’t figure out why the hospital I was air flighted to waited until the next morning to do the surgery. I’m glad they did as I really like my Neurosurgeon. I recall the Residents saying there was too much blood several times and once or twice saying between the first ED and the flight, I was over medicated. I imagine stabilizing me prior to surgery was a good thing.
If you can access the Radiology report from the first ED where they did the CT scan, you may get an answer to your rupture. For me, it was a Fisher Level III bleed which is greater than 1 mm of blood in the subarachnoid space. You could also reach out to the PA and ask them through your Patient Portal. When my Neurosurgeon finally was able to hire her own assistant, a wonderful NP, I didn’t see my Neurosurgeon much after that, the introduction appointment and both angiograms. They were short on masks for my stent back in 2020. I do believe the pandemic has changed a lot of ways doctors do business.
Thank you Moltroub!
Wow your story is as dramatic as mine! I was on a Teams call luckiky because BH was not home and was temporarily out of phone reach!
Anyway thank you for this. What is a PA?
I also did not have surgery immediately. Instead it took place the next morning. I suspect they knew enough to know that the bleeding had slowed or stopped, and or they were putting in the drain and waiting for some drainage before the angio procedure.
So glad to hear I’m not alone I’m not remembering even though I seemed conscious and not alone I. Experiencing a delay.
Ps what I meant to say is luckily my colleague on Teams knew I was in trouble and called the ambulance. I was also able to crawl to the front door and unlock it for the paramedics.
You’re most welcome Ms.Laura! I think all of us who experienced a rupture and survived have pretty dramatic stories. When you get a chance, read their introductions and their posts. If you have any problems navigating the site let me (@Moltroub) or @ModSupport know and we can help you out. The folks with Mod Support are really nice, they monitor all of Ben’s Friends support groups.
It’s a great thing you were on a Teams call! I credit our old Labrador we had at the time for saving my life first and then my Neurosurgeon and was quite worried about her dying whilst I was in NeuroICU. So much, in fact, that my Neurosurgeon told BH not to tell me if she died. My Neurosurgeon even told me I didn’t know that she would die. I was completely baffled and replied “Of course I do, she’s 14 ½ years old and that’s pretty old for a Labrador.” Trouble had 8 litter mates and she had outlived them all by years. There are numerous professionals that work hard to save our lives when we rupture but for some unknown reason I always credit Trouble as she woke me up and stood still while I used her to get to my knees and then my feet so I could reach the phone and call Communications. Since I don’t remember the ED visit, I always forget to credit those folks.
PA means Physician’s Assistant. Here in the States there are three titles that can write prescriptions - the Doctor, Physician’s Assistant ¶ and the Nurse Practitioner (NP). They can do a lot of other things as well of course. The PA and NP work under a doctor.
I hope you’re able to reach out through your portal and find your answers or just ask the first emergency department you went to. I’m unsure if you will find the answers with the ED. In the States, triage has to use the B.E.F.A.S.T as part of their first steps in admission, it’s an acronym for Balance, Eyes, Face, Arms, Speech and Time. I don’t know what Canada uses as their check for strokes.
Hi Moltroub,
Wow I have an almost 14 year old Labradoodle. He was here when it happened but all he did was stay close to me as I lay on the floor. Which was good in itself!
I love that your dog’s name was Trouble! Did he finally pass then? I’m sorry if so.
Well, I am unlikely to get answers as I’ve already asked the PA but got an unsatisfactory answer.
Another question I have for you since you also have a clip (I think) is what is your follow up time? They have told me I won’t get another angio to look at it for 3 years. That seems long to me but maybe it’s standard.
Animals can really have a calming effect on us! I ruptured Nov 2013 and Trouble was euthanized two week after I got home. We adopted a rescue the same day my parents adopted a rescue in Jan 2014, so now we have two!
My guess is the PA doesn’t know because either no one documented and doesn’t work in the ED. Call the hospital, you might need to speak to whomever is over the Emergency Department, if that doesn’t work then you’d have to keep working up the ladder so it would be whomever the Doctor is that’s over all the Doctors. At our hospital he is known as the Chief Medical Officer or some similar title. In North Carolina where I live, we can also reach out to the State Health Department if we think something wasn’t done correctly as they are the ones who do the investigations.
No ma’am I haven’t had a craniotomy, just four endovascular procedures. From what I understand from various members is that craniotomies, though more invasive don’t have the same follow up schedules as endovascular. Hopefully someone with experience in craniotomies can answer your follow up question.
I have 2 aneurysm one on the right and one on the left. The one on the right burst and i don’t remember anything except my husband calling my name. After that nothing until i woke up in the hospital. They told me i was talking to but i don’t remember that. I had to go back and get a coiling and stent. Which during the operation i had a stroke. When i came through all of that it was nine days later which it was suppose to be one night stay. I asked what happen and was told about the stroke and i had 2 seizures. I stull have bad headaches and forget a lot of stuff. I am not one 100% yet and my never be. The 2nd aneurysm is still small and they will be keeping a eye on it. Hope everything goes good for the rest of u. Have a good holiday and great new year.
I thought I was the only one. I ruptured, then I crawled to the couch, pulled myself up and slid back to the floor. I don’t remember anything after that. My doctors keep telling me it’s a good thing I don’t remember. Thank goodness for patient portals. I was apparently talking normally, showed no distress and was coherent and alert at my local hospital. They ended my stop there with the diagnosis of headache. I remember the headache when it first hit but not after that. An older doctor came in and did a CT. He called the closest Neuro Institute to see if they had room for me. They found room and I was pumped full of fentanyl and life lined to the neurosurgeons. My next memory was waking up about 3 weeks later. I didn’t know where I was, why I was there or what had happened. It’s a really strange feeling. I am sure it was a good time in my life to forget. But I wonder if it happens again how will they know. If the elderly doctor hadn’t come in I think they would have sent me home, told me to take aspirin for my headache and call my doctor in the morning.
I have been popping to read everyone’s stories and I am glad to to have a place to go where I almost feel like it’s home. I read and don’t say a lot but feel everyone like me is blessed. Yes we all have issues that have followed us. I have a huge story, however I find most people in general don’t understand what we have gone through. So I keep my story to myself anymore. The one thing I do wish to add is has anyone had issues with their skulls indenting to the degree where the skull is thinning. Almost like atrophying. Well mine has. Almost every week since about six months after my craniotomy for the aneurysm in my frontal lobe May 11, 2022 I have noticed the indentations developing. Some are larger than others. One feel like a hole. I called my surgeon at JHs and she said my skull is thinning. That I need to see a plastic neurosurgeon. So I went ahead and made an appt. I am not into this as I don’t want any more surgery but i what to know if this is going to get worse and what will I end up with. Anyone else have these problems? I was unaware this could happen. I knew I’d have a bump she said but never a half skull looking like part of Mars. Or a Waffle. Scary.
Blessings to all and keep up the great work. We are lucky.
Welcome Laura!
I wonder some of the same things as you do. I am so grateful for Dr. Haw for saving my life, but I also wonder why it took 11 hours to medivac me to a hospital to deal with my rupture and why when I left the hospital, I was not given a rehabilitation program or resources to help with my recovery. I also don’t remember anything for 6 days from the time the paramedics came until the time a nurse came in to take staples out. I have learned now that sometimes you just have to self-advocate. I have had to do a lot of this all through my recovery. It has been just over a year since my rupture and my clipping and I feel like I am getting healthy finally.
