Iām alive
I never imagined that 9months after this photo was taken Iād be fighting for my life. The fragility of life now so apparent.
Having family has saved me, Iām alive. 15% of people with a ruptured aneurysm die before reaching the hospital. I fought against all ods. Then survived brain surgery to stem the bleeding and have part of my skull removed, a cranietomy, to relieve the pressure. But sadly the implant became infected and had to be removed. I Became listless and had little cognition, I was in what they call a Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness (PDoC), but thanks to visits from my daughterās I started to show some spark of life so I was put forward for a cranioplasty(putting a metal sheet over my brain where the skull fragment was, to restore the pressure in my skull. I was given a 1 in 6 chance of survival. and here i am unable to talk, walk and eat. But alive. Iām so very grateful to my daughterās for never giving up on me even though doctors suggested that I may never do anything again except stare at the ceiling! thank goodness my cognition and memories returned, and my strong sense of self and fighting spirit, that has got me in trouble in the past but now serves me well. Asante Malaika zangu.
Communicate by any means you have at your disposal.
Everyone is pleased to hear whatever message you have to share.
Iām sure your daughters are proud of the efforts you are making.
We want to hear your story.
keep on keepinā on
Thank you @Bobbi,very kind and supportive of you
@Mich-mm you have been through so much but youāve survived & that tells me you have much strength and determination and whilst right now you are unable to talk, walk & eat you sound like someone who will work.hard to improve that.
Your beautiful family sound like great support & are prepared to help ypu out which is worth a lot.
We all look forward to hearing how youāre progressing however big or small that achievement is. Weāre happy to celebrate them all with you.
Interested in the script at the end of your post, I think I have it translated.
Asante Malaika zangu
A beautiful phrase in Swahili as far as I can tell, meaning āThank my Angelsā.
If I have it correct, then many of us have reason to want to do that.
Thank you, I canāt help my need to solve puzzles. Working through that was helpful and uplifting.
Best wishes to you and your beautiful daughters.
Me too, my stroke was very similar to yours except that I survived twice. I was in the sea and the aneurysm was triggered by a near drowning. We are part of a small and select club on here who survived against the odds,
Janet
Yes @Bobbi having grown up in
Kenya Iām bilingual,and Swahili often sounds more beautiful to me than English.Asante sana mi na furahai ku pata chapayote yako.
Mnakaribishwa sana lakini lazima nikiri nilidanganya na kutumia programu ya kutafsiri. Ni vizuri kuzungumza na wewe hata hivyo. Natumaini tu programu haijafanya mambo mabaya kwa maneno yangu.
Iāll post a translation to save anyone like me from having to decode it. It would drive me mad and Iād have to find what it said.
You are very welcome but I have to confess I cheated and used a translate app. It is nice to speak with you anyhow. I just hope the app hasnāt done nasty things to my words.
Hereās something for those who like me love puzzles - find your own translation :
endelea kuendelea
Hello @janetb12345.Iāve never met someone else who had an aneurysm. Other than the near-drowning what caused the aneurysm. I donāt know if mine was congenital or formed as a result of falling out of a moving car on a beach in my 20s. Sorry to be so very nosey but did you have a craniectomy too?
I think the aneurysm was something I was born with. The stress of the drowning caused my blood pressure to rise which then burst the aneurysm. No craniectomy but I was in a coma for 3 weeks. I have heard that aneurysms can occur as a result of pregnancy.
[quote=āBobbi, post:9, topic:43477ā]
Mnakaribishwa sana lakini lazima nikiri nilidanganya na kutumia programu ya kutafsiri. Ni vizuri kuzungumza na wewe hata hivyo. Natumaini tu programu haijafanya mambo mabaya kwa maneno yang
Itās nice to talk to you too. The translator youāre using seems to be effective
I had three pregnancies so I donāt think so but Iāll do some research. I had put it down to the accident I had but Iām not sure I suppose I will never know, but I was having migraines and dizzy spells and had a brain scan and nothing was found.
An educated guess - Keep on Keepinā on!
Hi Michelle, thatās a beautiful picture. Iām sure your daughters must be very proud of their strong determined Mum and with their love and support Iām sure you will achieve great things along your long and tough road to recovery.
I wish you all well and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Regards Sue
Yes contine, continue.
What a great story.
My husband survived an aortic aneurism in December. At the time of surgery he also had pneumonia and influenza Type A. He survived the surgery and was intubated for 3 weeks. He wasnāt improving after the breathing tube was removed and started having difficulty breathing. It turned out to be as a result of an infection in the repair site. Fortunately antibiotics sorted that out.
Twice I was told he was too ill to survive, but he did.
6 months later he is still in hospital as there are no carers available to carry out his home care package so heās stuck there. On the plus side the physios (there has been scant physio given) have him standing. He can carry out all his personal care, wash his hair, dress himself, and the other day beat me at arm wrestling with his stroke arm!
The down side is although heās started to transfer with the physios the nursing staff wonāt let him, so heās still be moved by hoist. And he craftily stands after using the commode when the nursing staff arenāt looking.
Thank goodness you both survived such a serious condition.
Omg @helen S.I too got pneumonia and Covid so I can sympathise Iām so impressed by how much he can do on his own.I canāt do any of that the only thing I do for myself is brush my teeth with an electric toothbrush!Iām not allowed to stand either but at the rehab hospital R
HN that I was in before this care home I stood in what is called an easy-chair,a chair that when pumped puts you in a standing position.
@HelenS - that is so wonderful. It is amazing what you can do when given the support and when you show willing even without support. Your husband doing crafty stands is a testament to his desire to do the best he can for himself.
What he has achieved is truly remarkable and the way he is going, he wonāt be needing any carers 
Being stuck in a hospital for no good reason other than no carers are available to carry out his home care package and remaining in a positive and strong frame of mind - I am lost for words. Remarkable strength of character 
Please pass on to your husband my heartiest congratulations - he is truly remarkable.
I hope he gets to go home soon - he truly deserves it.
Michelle @Mich-mm - what you have achieved should not be underestimated. We are all different and we all have different capabilities and potential. As far as I can see, both you and Helenās husband have been amazing in wanting to achieve as much of a recovery as you can and you have only be held back from achieving more from the constraints that have been put on you.
Best wishes to you both.
