Mark The Homer
January-7th-2009, 10:04 AM
I don't usually share, but I'm going to share this because I think it's an important lesson on why we should try to stay healthy. I have no medical background, but this is my understanding of what happened to a friend of mine.
I needed tix for the Baltimore game and wasn't sure what I was going to do as they were very expensive. I figured I'd probably end up in the upper deck and I was hoping to find something for between 3 and 4 hundred dollars for the pair.
To the rescue is a friend who has four season tix on the LL sidelines, row 8. He could have sold his tickets on stubhub for $1200, but instead he sold them to me at face for $400 because he knew I wanted to go to the game (I sold two to Teddy833 for face). That's just a backdrop on what a decent guy he is.
Dec 16th, his wife (age about 40) calls him because she has a horrible headache. He picks her up and they go to the ER. They do a scan and see she has an aneurism. It had not yet burst. I found this out that evening.
What is an aneurism? I had to google it. In layman's terms, it's a blood vessel that has ballooned out because of abnormal thinness in the vein wall. A victim is born with this thinness and it's considered a birth defect. There's no way to know you have this or detect it until a problem occurs.
An operation was scheduled and done the following afternoon (Dec 17) at George Washington U hospital. My understanding is a stint was installed. It went well. The operation was termed a success. Recovery would take 3-4 weeks.
Monday Dec 22, they did another brain scan which is protocol. That scan revealed blood vessel blockages or near-blockages in several places which required more surgery, because if they weren't dealt with, they would increase the risk of another aneurism due to high pressure on the vein walls. The doctors went in again that day and installed stints within the problem areas. It went well. The operation was termed a success.
At some point after the second surgery (Tu or W I think), the doctors initiated a "pressure test", similar to what a plumber will do after installing or repairing a pipe. The doctors purposely increased the blood pressure of the patient to test their repair. Again, this is protocol, from what I understand.
Wednesday evening, we went to Christmas eve service. We actually sat on the same bench and talked football. He was very upbeat and happy. I joked with him that I was jealous of his Ravens. He and his 14 year old daughter came over to our house afterwards and his daughter and my youngest (see blonde in sig) traded gifts. They were both happy and full of cheer - saying they would celebrate their REAL Christmas when his wife/mom came home in a few weeks.
Christmas morning his wife slipped into a coma. I don't know the exact details except that the doctors were not optimistic about this.
Saturday, Dec 27, they did more tests and determined she would never regain consciousness. She was (in my understanding) "brain dead."
She has been cremated. The funeral is Saturday.
********************
How did this happen?
My understanding is, although the aneurim is considered a birth defect, the blockage or almost-blockage of the blood vessels is due to disease (not sure what the disease is called), but it occurs to me it might be brought on by high cholesterol and high blood pressure. That is, one might have high-cholesterol, and that could create small blockages. Add high blood pressure, and this puts abnormal stress on your entire circulatory system.
Moral to this thread: Life is short. Take care of yourself. Keep your cholesterol down. Keep your blood pressure down. Keep your weight down. Eat right. Get a physical regularly.
I needed tix for the Baltimore game and wasn't sure what I was going to do as they were very expensive. I figured I'd probably end up in the upper deck and I was hoping to find something for between 3 and 4 hundred dollars for the pair.
To the rescue is a friend who has four season tix on the LL sidelines, row 8. He could have sold his tickets on stubhub for $1200, but instead he sold them to me at face for $400 because he knew I wanted to go to the game (I sold two to Teddy833 for face). That's just a backdrop on what a decent guy he is.
Dec 16th, his wife (age about 40) calls him because she has a horrible headache. He picks her up and they go to the ER. They do a scan and see she has an aneurism. It had not yet burst. I found this out that evening.
What is an aneurism? I had to google it. In layman's terms, it's a blood vessel that has ballooned out because of abnormal thinness in the vein wall. A victim is born with this thinness and it's considered a birth defect. There's no way to know you have this or detect it until a problem occurs.
An operation was scheduled and done the following afternoon (Dec 17) at George Washington U hospital. My understanding is a stint was installed. It went well. The operation was termed a success. Recovery would take 3-4 weeks.
Monday Dec 22, they did another brain scan which is protocol. That scan revealed blood vessel blockages or near-blockages in several places which required more surgery, because if they weren't dealt with, they would increase the risk of another aneurism due to high pressure on the vein walls. The doctors went in again that day and installed stints within the problem areas. It went well. The operation was termed a success.
At some point after the second surgery (Tu or W I think), the doctors initiated a "pressure test", similar to what a plumber will do after installing or repairing a pipe. The doctors purposely increased the blood pressure of the patient to test their repair. Again, this is protocol, from what I understand.
Wednesday evening, we went to Christmas eve service. We actually sat on the same bench and talked football. He was very upbeat and happy. I joked with him that I was jealous of his Ravens. He and his 14 year old daughter came over to our house afterwards and his daughter and my youngest (see blonde in sig) traded gifts. They were both happy and full of cheer - saying they would celebrate their REAL Christmas when his wife/mom came home in a few weeks.
Christmas morning his wife slipped into a coma. I don't know the exact details except that the doctors were not optimistic about this.
Saturday, Dec 27, they did more tests and determined she would never regain consciousness. She was (in my understanding) "brain dead."
She has been cremated. The funeral is Saturday.
********************
How did this happen?
My understanding is, although the aneurim is considered a birth defect, the blockage or almost-blockage of the blood vessels is due to disease (not sure what the disease is called), but it occurs to me it might be brought on by high cholesterol and high blood pressure. That is, one might have high-cholesterol, and that could create small blockages. Add high blood pressure, and this puts abnormal stress on your entire circulatory system.
Moral to this thread: Life is short. Take care of yourself. Keep your cholesterol down. Keep your blood pressure down. Keep your weight down. Eat right. Get a physical regularly.