I consider myself extremely lucky. I began having debilitating migraines in 2022, and first saw a neurologist in 2023. At first, they resisted having me scanned for an aneurysm until I told them about my family history – my mom has both an aneurysm and ruptured AVM. Thanks to my knowledge of my family history, the neurologist sent me for a scan where an aneurysm was ultimately found in my internal carotid artery, near my ophthalmic nerve. At that point, I was referred to a neurosurgeon and met with Dr. Jabbour at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia. He took great care of me and sent me for an angiogram, the gold standard for aneurysm diagnosis. During the angiogram, he found my aneurysm to be twice the size of what the MRA found, so 2 weeks later, I underwent surgery to have a stent placed. It went great, I was in Neuro ICU for one day and at the zoo with my family two days later!
I am extremely lucky that I was able to work with a neurology team to catch my aneurysm early and treat it. It is so important to educate your family if you’ve been diagnosed with an aneurysm or other venous disorders, because knowledge is power and it potentially saved my life.
I am thrilled to have found TBF and that they are in my backyard! I loved being part of the TBF Race Series and joining the HONEYBASH Gala in November of 2022.
