Bad news...Good news...

Friday afternoon Aya got a call from one of her mom's friends saying that her mom blacked out at the gym and was taken to the hospital. Our first thought was my mother inlaw over exerted herself at the gym but when Aya got to the hospital we found out her mother had an aneurysm and was going to be transferred to another hospital that can do the surgery.

"An aneurysm (or aneurism) is a localized, blood-filled dilation (balloon-like bulge) of a blood vessel caused by disease or weakening of the vessel wall. Aneurysms most commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain (the circle of Willis) and in the aorta (the main artery coming out of the heart), a so-called aortic aneurysm. The bulge in a blood vessel can burst and lead to death at any time. The larger an aneurysm becomes, the more likely it is to burst.

Currently there are two treatment options for brain aneurysms: surgical clipping or endovascular coiling. It consists of performing a craniotomy, exposing the aneurysm, and closing the base of the aneurysm with a clip. The surgical technique has been modified and improved over the years.

Surgical clipping remains the best method to permanently eliminate aneurysms. It consists of passing a catheter into the femoral artery in the groin, through the aorta, into the brain arteries, and finally into the aneurysm itself. Once the catheter is in the aneurysm, platinum coils are pushed into the aneurysm and released. These coils initiate a clotting or thrombotic reaction within the aneurysm that, if successful, will eliminate the aneurysm. In the case of broad-based aneurysms, a stent is passed first into the parent artery to serve as a scaffold for the coils ("stent-assisted coiling").

At this point it appears that the risks associated with surgical clipping and endovascular coiling, in terms of stroke or death from the procedure, are the same. The major problem associated with endovascular coiling, however, is the high recurrence rate and subsequent bleeding of the aneurysms."

Aya's mom had a 2mm aneurysm and was lucid and moving all her limbs...so we thought everything was okay. Most aneurysms are 5-7 mm and patients are usually unconscious so we were under the false impression that Aya's mom was not in critical condition. Unfortunately after we met the surgeon we became aware of how condition her condition really was and that 2mm or 7 mm she was already lucky to have just made it to the hospital. The next step was surviving the surgery.

Luckily the surgery went as planned on Saturday. The doctor opted for the craniotomy which ended up being a great call because the vessel wall was weak and bleeding and aneurysm was clipped.

Aya's mom is still recoving and will be in the ICU for about 8 more days. She can understand and respond to commands. She can also move her limbs. She is still very groggy from the surgery so she hasn't spoken or opened her eyes yet but we are hoping tomorrow will be the day.

The good news is she survived making it to the hospital and she survived the surgery. According to the doctor 33% of the patients walk out as good as new. We are hoping Aya's mom is part of the 33%....keep your fingers crossed.