Support the Brain Aneurysm Survivor
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Our beloved mother, Mi Seon, is a single mom of two and a recent graduate from a cosmetology school, who was just about to start a new chapter in her life. She has always hoped to become a hair stylist, but she didn't have an opportunity to pursue her dream until she was over the age of 50.
On the night of August 3, 2014, before the first day of her long-held dream job as a hair stylist, she was found on the floor unconscious.
I quickly moved her to the ER. She was constantly complaining about headaches, nausea, and dizziness for unknown reasons. The doctor scanned her head and found out that she had a Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) - a ruptured brain aneurysm, commonly known as stroke.
Medical transport crews came in shortly after and transported her to the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit. As I followed the ambulance she was riding in, I was so scared and terrified that I might actually lose her.
Doctors and nurses rushed into her room the next morning to put an external drainage device inside her skull to drain out the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) and the blood from her brain, to ease the intracranial pressure. After few hours, the neurosurgeon came in with many papers to sign, which listed all of the possible risks of surgery and current conditions, including impairments and death.
The neurosurgeon said that due to an extreme bleeding in her brain, our mother was put in a life-threatening situation. He insisted me to call immediate family members right away. After the paperworks were finished, our mother was sent to the operation room. Thankfully, the coiling of aneurysm was successful even after the re-bleeding. Even then, for the next several weeks, our mother had to externally drain out the residual blood and CSF from her skull.
After her first surgery, I called Doo, my brother, who was away in Rhode Island for his summer internship and explained everything that had happend with mom and I. He flew in the next morning without finishing his internship. Due to this tragic incident, Doo had to take a semester off from college.
A week after the coiling, she began to have severe vasospasm (spasm of the blood vessels in her brain), and our mom had to have another surgery (angioplasty) to widen the narrowed vessels. Another week after the angioplasty, she had her VP Shunt placed inside her head to treat hydrocephalus (building up of cerebrospinal fluid, which is a life-threatening condition). She will now have to live with the VP Shunt for the rest of her life.
After spending 3 weeks at the NSICU, she was moved down to the Stroke Unit. She still couldn't sit, stand, or walk, due to paralysis on her left side of the body, a condition known as the hemiperesis. The physicians decided to have her transported to an Acute Rehabilitation Center for her physical therapy.
It was a blissful 5 weeks at the rehabilitation center, seeing her recover and gain her nerves and muscles back. However, she has never gained strengths in her left foot due to severe damages to the nerve, and her left side of the body remains very weak until today.
My brother and I are desperate to get our mother the electric stimulation device to assist her walking. However, as a college student and someone who started her first job not so long ago, we do not have any other ways to afford the expensive device while paying off medical bills and student loans, on top of covering basic living expenses.
Recently, our mother had the craniotomy and clipping of aneurysm on February 4, 2015, to treat another aneurysm that was found on the left side of her brain.
Since the last surgery, she has overcome weeks of excruciating pain in her head, and she is trying her best to stay strong and positive during her recovery.
Our mother has a radiant soul and a loving smile that make people around her joyful. She has always been a helpful member in her community, and she hopes to continue to help those in need.
We celebrated her 52nd birthday just one week before her surgery which, then, was not promised in August of 2014. We just want to be able to celebrate her many more birthdays together. Please help us make this possible.
Thank you for reading our long journey.
Please keeps us in your prayers and please consider donating, as we gradually find stability in our family again.
Doo & Jen
On the night of August 3, 2014, before the first day of her long-held dream job as a hair stylist, she was found on the floor unconscious.
I quickly moved her to the ER. She was constantly complaining about headaches, nausea, and dizziness for unknown reasons. The doctor scanned her head and found out that she had a Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) - a ruptured brain aneurysm, commonly known as stroke.
Medical transport crews came in shortly after and transported her to the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit. As I followed the ambulance she was riding in, I was so scared and terrified that I might actually lose her.
Doctors and nurses rushed into her room the next morning to put an external drainage device inside her skull to drain out the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) and the blood from her brain, to ease the intracranial pressure. After few hours, the neurosurgeon came in with many papers to sign, which listed all of the possible risks of surgery and current conditions, including impairments and death.
The neurosurgeon said that due to an extreme bleeding in her brain, our mother was put in a life-threatening situation. He insisted me to call immediate family members right away. After the paperworks were finished, our mother was sent to the operation room. Thankfully, the coiling of aneurysm was successful even after the re-bleeding. Even then, for the next several weeks, our mother had to externally drain out the residual blood and CSF from her skull.
After her first surgery, I called Doo, my brother, who was away in Rhode Island for his summer internship and explained everything that had happend with mom and I. He flew in the next morning without finishing his internship. Due to this tragic incident, Doo had to take a semester off from college.
A week after the coiling, she began to have severe vasospasm (spasm of the blood vessels in her brain), and our mom had to have another surgery (angioplasty) to widen the narrowed vessels. Another week after the angioplasty, she had her VP Shunt placed inside her head to treat hydrocephalus (building up of cerebrospinal fluid, which is a life-threatening condition). She will now have to live with the VP Shunt for the rest of her life.
After spending 3 weeks at the NSICU, she was moved down to the Stroke Unit. She still couldn't sit, stand, or walk, due to paralysis on her left side of the body, a condition known as the hemiperesis. The physicians decided to have her transported to an Acute Rehabilitation Center for her physical therapy.
It was a blissful 5 weeks at the rehabilitation center, seeing her recover and gain her nerves and muscles back. However, she has never gained strengths in her left foot due to severe damages to the nerve, and her left side of the body remains very weak until today.
My brother and I are desperate to get our mother the electric stimulation device to assist her walking. However, as a college student and someone who started her first job not so long ago, we do not have any other ways to afford the expensive device while paying off medical bills and student loans, on top of covering basic living expenses.
Recently, our mother had the craniotomy and clipping of aneurysm on February 4, 2015, to treat another aneurysm that was found on the left side of her brain.
Since the last surgery, she has overcome weeks of excruciating pain in her head, and she is trying her best to stay strong and positive during her recovery.
Our mother has a radiant soul and a loving smile that make people around her joyful. She has always been a helpful member in her community, and she hopes to continue to help those in need.
We celebrated her 52nd birthday just one week before her surgery which, then, was not promised in August of 2014. We just want to be able to celebrate her many more birthdays together. Please help us make this possible.
Thank you for reading our long journey.
Please keeps us in your prayers and please consider donating, as we gradually find stability in our family again.
Doo & Jen
Organizer
Doo Yong Shim
Organizer
Fairfax, VA