Exactly one year ago today, to the hour, an axe hit me in the head. A brain aneurysm ruptured and flooded my head with blood. The extreme pain, dizziness and nausea cut a dividing line through my life – one second I was fine, the next I was on the verge of death. I can … read more What I learned when I almost died
Tag: surgery
Lucky twins
Tom and I are dissimilar in many ways. He’s calm, I’m hyper; he’s a math guy, I’m a word girl. In the past couple years, though, we’ve had medical procedures in common. Two years ago, we both had surgery for early-onset cataracts. He had his done first, which gave me the courage to get mine … read more Lucky twins
Restoration work
My mother bought this bracelet 40 or 50 years ago, at a flea market or something. It’s sterling silver, from Mexico, and the stone is an amethyst. I always loved it. The stone had a fissure in it, which I thought was intriguing. Then Dad took some jewelry-making classes and replaced the amethyst with turquoise. It was … read more Restoration work
Holes in my head
For more than a month, I’ve been running my fingers over the new holes in my head. OK, they’re not actual holes – you can’t look into them and see my brain. They’re large dents and grooves. Seeing as how they’re in my skull, they feel pretty freakin’ significant. They are near the incision that was made for … read more Holes in my head
Other gifts, too
About a month into my recovery, a friend who is an herbalist and practices traditional Chinese medicine told me: “Your shen had a fright and has yet to fully return. Taking baby steps to make things nice and cozy ‘in Lisa’ will entice your shen’s full return.” She recommended herbs, meditation, looking at green things, being … read more Other gifts, too
Watch over me
It’s only this week, now that I feel almost fully recovered from the brain surgery, that I realize what a big deal it was. Eleven weeks today, almost to the minute, since that aneurysm ruptured and I collapsed on the floor. I really did almost die. And the surgeons really did dig through my brain. … read more Watch over me
Bumpy turf
There’s ridges on my head. An indent deep enough that the sides of it make two ridges, and a double-wide ridge just above my temple. The indent is the leading end of the incision they made for the surgery. It’s maybe an inch or an inch and a half long. The ridges on my temple … read more Bumpy turf
Accomplished
My biggest accomplishment of 2015 is that I survived it. I like the sound of that – it has the right mix of crispness and surprise. But … nah. “Privileged white girl! What do you know about survival?” my inner critic hisses. The people who should be allowed to take credit for surviving 2015 are … read more Accomplished
Re-traumatized
[Dec. 28] This morning, I had an anxiety attack from reading the description of my surgery. I had downloaded my patient record from Emory. It described the surgery step by step, in clinical detail. Four pages of detail. It was the first time that I realized what the doctors meant when they said the aneurysm was in an … read more Re-traumatized
Impatient patient tossed from hospital
FRIDAY, Nov. 27 (WORDPRESS BULLETIN): Just 12 days after collapsing with a ruptured brain aneurysm, blogger Lisa Schnellinger has been released from Emory Hospital in Atlanta to the custody of her primary caregiver Tom Willard. The discharge came two days earlier than previous optimistic estimates. There were unconfirmed rumors of a threatened mutiny by Emory … read more Impatient patient tossed from hospital