My fiancé, Tom, experienced a ruptured aneurysm 1 week ago today (August 8th). I understand this is a marathon and i am only at the 100 yd line, however I’m trying to figure out what it is I am dealing with regarding Tom’s mental state. Tom’s aneurysm was located bêtween the two frontal lobes. The rupture caused a significant bleed in both left and right frontal lobes. After rupture and before surgery he was talking, knew my name, corrected me when I was listing his past surgeries to the ER docs and only complained about the sciatica which he has been battling since mid-July. He had an 8 hr surgery to clip the aneurysm. Two days after initial surgery he had an additional surgery to remove a blood clot. He had no difficulty waking up after first surgery. He had a difficult time waking up after the 2nd surgery (4 days). Tom knows his name, birthday, city, name of hospital, his kids names and my name. He knows his favorite pizza. Favorite sports team. He will be answering questions correctly when he suddenly starts making no sense, I.e. “take the 8 1/2 by 11 to them” or “swipe the card on Monroe”… " I like black markers, two black markers". He also starts repeating whatever you say to him. Has anyone ever experienced this type of behavior 1 week or so after surgery? If so, did you/they experience any improvement or is this an indication of what will be long term? Thank you. Heidi
Heidi, I'm guessing you can expect significant improvements. The days after surgery can be pretty weird, mentally. I only had one surgery and was in ICU for 11 days. I remember next to nothing of those days. I guess the weirdest thing I said and did was I told my daughter that I had reformatted my laptop hard drive so I could communicate with Harry Potter. At that point they took the laptop away from me. I don't think anyone has told me any other "delirious" things I said or did. Luckily all I had done was create and email filter. I do remember seeing a TV for a while and figuring out that it was in the middle of a Harry Potter movie that I had seen. That was a year ago. By the time I came home from the hospital (Day 11 after surgery I think), I don't think I was saying any wild things. I also wasn't really able to keep a memory of the day to day things that were happening at that point. Now, a year later, it is reasonably OK. I started going back to the office for a few hours a week after about 8 months. Part of the delay was that I didn't want to go back. It is impossible to know what is coming in the months to come, but I think you can expect your fiance to make sense. It also sounds like the phrases he is saying make sense in the context of what is going through his mind. There is another discussion on here that goes on through quite a few people. It may be under something like "Why so calm" Best wishes to both of you.
Hi Heidi, I had an aneurysm clipped 21 years ago, and I had the same types of memory and speaking problems that your fiance is having. I remembered my family and friends, and then one day told my husband "I have to have my estrogen x-rayed because they're dancing all over the ceiling!" Also I had trouble with telling him what I had eaten for weeks. They explained to him that the synapsis are broken apart by all that they have to do in surgery, and that it will come back with some time. I know it has to be more difficult for the caretakers than for the patients, but with God's help, all will be good soon.
I'm facing clipping of two new annies on Aug. 28, and trying very hard to put it in God's hands. I can't say I'm not scared, but I do have a little more peace with it.
Bless you and your fiance, and know that many prayers are with you! Mike
Hi Heidi...often there seems to be much confusion as the patient heals through this journey...his brain has been through alot and needs lots of rest to heal...with a crainotomy it seems it takes one year to truly heal and know what things are normal and what is the "new normal"...I am not sure how he is reacting right now is permanent...What do the Doctor's and Nurse's tell you?
Gotcha in my Thoughts .... ~ Colleen
Hi Heidi-so sorry your having to experience this- must be difficult for you-so i just called my sis & yes i was babbling too! I also recall my niece exclaiming i was on heavy meds, maybe she'll recall babbling- i'll ask- i was hoping to report a great babbling story to give you encouragement that he will improve- which i am confident he will. I'm sure the doctors will agree this is way to early to indicate a long term condition. Let's think positive- this along with our prayers i expect great improvement! Hang in there Heidi and remember you are not alone-so glad you found us-vent,comment anytime you feel the need, we are always here. Prayers for Tom & you going out now!
I asked my husband if he had any more stories of me making outlandish comments/believing things had or where happening that weren't. Yes. I believed my brother was in the room across the hall with the same rupture/craniotomy clipping. I also believed that my son's co-worker was there with a stroke and I was worried because he and his wife had just had their 2nd child. One way to look at it is that there isn't the usual separation between dreams and waking experience. So, Heidi, don't worry that this is how it will be even next week. The early change is very rapid.
Thank you Troy. Your theory about dreams vs. Waking experiences makes sense. I just need to be patient. I see others in ICU recovering faster and others more slowly. I just wish I knew what He and i will be dealing with long term and there are too many variables to make that prediction. I truly appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post.
Mike, Thank you for the kind words and prayers. It helps to know others have gone through similar experiences. It has been 8 days since surgery and Tom is sleeping a lot, which frieghtens me. However, like you, i believ it is in God’s hands. . I wish you well on August 28th and will keep you in my prayers. Heidi
Hi Heidi, I hope things are going better for your fiance and you. Thanks so much for your prayers! Tom will most likely sleep a lot, but give him some time for the synapses of the brain to "reconnect" and you should see improvement. Since the aneurysm ruptured, it may take longer for him to come around. Keep the faith! Mike
Hello Heidi, I remember some of the first couple of weeks after my ruptured anne' was clipped. I slept alot, ( I felt exhausted) and continued to need alot of rest for months after the surgery. I also remember taking a good deal longer to process things people said to me. No quick witted responses for a while. I think he will have improvement over time, but it is gradual. After I came home from the hospital, I could only do one small activiity a day or I was exhausted and had increased headaches. Good luck and I am sending a prayer up for him and for you. God Bless.