Shyla’s medical journey
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In 2019 Shyla was in college studying and was a very active athletic 20 year old; playing softball and volleyball for Mitchell College. She started to get headaches and some blurred vision in her left eye. After seeing her primary care dr. And trying many over the counter and prescribed medications the headaches persisted. Aneurysms are hereditary, I knew this because my sister Sherrie passed away when she was just 29 years old in the year 2000 from a 3 mm berry aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery “circle of Willis”. In the year 2005 my younger sister Theresa also found out that she had 1cm aneurysm in her right internal coratoid artery. She had open brain surgery to clip the 1cm aneurysm, and in 2021 she found out she had two more aneurysms and had one of them coiled and will monitor the third one. In 2011 Shyla’s grandfather had a subarachnoid “3 mm”; Left craniotomy aneurysm in the anterior communicating artery that ruptured. He was air flighted to Yale New Haven Hospital in Ct. where the dr. went in open brain surgery and saved his life! Knowing how serious aneurysms are and our family history; I knew that I needed to get her into an Emergency Room to get an MRI immediately. No one has a migraine for 5 days straight and doesn’t get any relief from all the medications we had tried. I took her to Pequot Medical Center in Groton Ct. the first thing I did was explain the family history of aneurysms to the dr. I demanded that a Cat Scan or MRI “with contrast” needed to be done, and if they were not going to use contrast I was taking her to another ER. The Dr. agreed. After the cat scan with contrast the dr. came back into the room and said they found a 5mm aneurysm in the parietal coratid artery ( at the left proximal M1 segment ) . They rushed her by ambulance to Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven Ct. She met with Dr. Matuk, who would become her neuro surgeon. While she was in the pre-op room there was a 3mm aneurysm in the carotid artery behind and attached to left eye;
( left ICA terminus ) that ruptured. Dr. Matuk came in fast and started running her bed down the hall, I ran after him grabbed his arm and said please save my daughter, save my baby girl please. He looked at me and said, “I will do everything that I can”. He brought her in started the angiogram; sending the stent through her femoral artery. All we knew at the time was his plan of coiling and stenting the aneurysm. He was in the OR for the procedure, came back out and called us into a private room, he said they found two more aneurysms, if he had to cut her open to save her did he have our permission. We all agreed; you do whatever you have to do to save our little girls life. I told him the next time he comes out I wanted to see a smile “so I would know that she survived”, he agreed he would do that for me. We all went back to the waiting room, with a lot of the family waiting and pacing, It felt like the longest 6 hours of my life! The 5mm aneurysm that ruptured was stented and coiled. The 3mm aneurysm in the parietal artery was just coiled. When the surgery was over Dr. Matuk came out to us with his PA and he came smiling. The family ran over to him and her; hugging, shaking hands, and thanking them for saving our daughters life. Due to the ruptured aneurysm Shyla lost her sight in her left eye. The rupture fully paralyzed nerves 3,4,6; partially paralyzing nerve 5; all in her face. It took a lot of therapy and PT and medications and a year and seven months to recover. Shyla had many sleepless nights and dealt with so much pain but she survived and healed. Her face muscles started to come back and later her vision. Even after the full healing process she still has days where it is hard to see clearly and without brain pain. Hear we are two years later. She is now 22, has been working two jobs and taking courses at New Hampshire college. She went in for her annual check up and they found that the 5mm aneurysm has come back and regrown to 11.88mm large. They also found two new aneurysms that needed to be clipped. She had open brain surgery on March 30, 2021. The dr. Told Shyla she was lucky to be in that day because that aneurysm that was 11.88mm large was rupturing at the time. They had to do a craniotomy, clipping the two aneurysms. Once healed from this open brain surgery she will need to have another craniotomy done on the right side to clip the other aneurysms. The first surgery has caused multiple mini seizures, stuttering, slurring of words, and memory issues! She is on a lot of medications and is in Speech therapy now. This is going to be a long process of recovery for Shyla. We do not have a date of the second surgery, to come, but we are hoping that she heals fast and is able and strong enough to withstand another open brain surgery. Shyla is just 22 years old and she is the bravest strongest most positive young woman I know. Please help us raise money for Shyla Ann, any amount will help her with her bills, medical bills, co-pays and medications. Thank you so much for caring to read this and helping with whatever you are able to. God Bless !!
( left ICA terminus ) that ruptured. Dr. Matuk came in fast and started running her bed down the hall, I ran after him grabbed his arm and said please save my daughter, save my baby girl please. He looked at me and said, “I will do everything that I can”. He brought her in started the angiogram; sending the stent through her femoral artery. All we knew at the time was his plan of coiling and stenting the aneurysm. He was in the OR for the procedure, came back out and called us into a private room, he said they found two more aneurysms, if he had to cut her open to save her did he have our permission. We all agreed; you do whatever you have to do to save our little girls life. I told him the next time he comes out I wanted to see a smile “so I would know that she survived”, he agreed he would do that for me. We all went back to the waiting room, with a lot of the family waiting and pacing, It felt like the longest 6 hours of my life! The 5mm aneurysm that ruptured was stented and coiled. The 3mm aneurysm in the parietal artery was just coiled. When the surgery was over Dr. Matuk came out to us with his PA and he came smiling. The family ran over to him and her; hugging, shaking hands, and thanking them for saving our daughters life. Due to the ruptured aneurysm Shyla lost her sight in her left eye. The rupture fully paralyzed nerves 3,4,6; partially paralyzing nerve 5; all in her face. It took a lot of therapy and PT and medications and a year and seven months to recover. Shyla had many sleepless nights and dealt with so much pain but she survived and healed. Her face muscles started to come back and later her vision. Even after the full healing process she still has days where it is hard to see clearly and without brain pain. Hear we are two years later. She is now 22, has been working two jobs and taking courses at New Hampshire college. She went in for her annual check up and they found that the 5mm aneurysm has come back and regrown to 11.88mm large. They also found two new aneurysms that needed to be clipped. She had open brain surgery on March 30, 2021. The dr. Told Shyla she was lucky to be in that day because that aneurysm that was 11.88mm large was rupturing at the time. They had to do a craniotomy, clipping the two aneurysms. Once healed from this open brain surgery she will need to have another craniotomy done on the right side to clip the other aneurysms. The first surgery has caused multiple mini seizures, stuttering, slurring of words, and memory issues! She is on a lot of medications and is in Speech therapy now. This is going to be a long process of recovery for Shyla. We do not have a date of the second surgery, to come, but we are hoping that she heals fast and is able and strong enough to withstand another open brain surgery. Shyla is just 22 years old and she is the bravest strongest most positive young woman I know. Please help us raise money for Shyla Ann, any amount will help her with her bills, medical bills, co-pays and medications. Thank you so much for caring to read this and helping with whatever you are able to. God Bless !!
Organizer
Tanya Cline
Organizer
East Lyme, CT