Photos courtesy of Nicole Carter
Crack! Imagine the sound of a 100-pound branch snapping off the trunk of a tree, landing on your head.
Thatʼs how it felt when my brain aneurysm ruptured on Sept. 7, 2014.
During a cardio interval of my Saturday workout, a thunderclap headache brought me to my knees. My foot dragged. I saw rainbows around the lights. The pounding was unbearable, and I began to vomit. My two sons (ages 10 and 8) called my husband, Erick. He came home immediately, and we went to urgent care.
The doctor concluded I was dehydrated, and sent me home with anti-nausea medicine to rest. But the pain was excruciating, and the vomiting, which had dissipated at urgent care, returned.
We went to the emergency room, where the physician immediately ordered a CT scan. He showed us a gray cloud on top of my brain. New diagnosis: brain bleed, likely due to a brain aneurysm. The rapid progression was overwhelming: an ambulance ride to another hospital, a catheter, a central IV line, a surgical consultation and a referral to a third hospital.
I prayed through the whirlwind. Miraculously, I felt no fear. My amazing husband didnʼt flinch. He held my hand and kissed me – forever my pillar of strength in crisis.
After a second CT scan, a neurosurgeon explained that the larger of my two brain aneurysms had ruptured and stopped bleeding on its own. Wait, two? There was a second one that was too small to treat. However, the odds of the larger one re-bleeding were 20 to 60 percent. There was no guarantee the bleeding would stop again. Only surgery could prevent a re-bleed. Time for this 43-year-old kickboxing instructor to undergo brain surgery.
I kissed my husband and continued my silent prayer riding into the operating room. Deep down, I knew I would be okay. I still felt no fear – just the warm arms of Jesus. That is, until I was on the cold operating table. Thatʼs when fear crept in. I shoved it away by saying the “Our Father” prayer aloud, over and over, until the warm wave of anesthesia washed over me.
In the end, they shaved a small amount of hair, opened my skull and installed a permanent clip on the vessel in my brain. They expertly used screws and staples to put me back together.
I awakened to a room full of love, feeling both the humble bliss of thankfulness and the sweet surprise that my entire family was there for me.
I am wildly thankful for what I did not know: 40 percent of ruptured aneurysm patients do not survive, and 15 percent donʼt even make it to the hospital. Of the survivors, 66 percent suffer some permanent neurological deficit. My story crushes the odds. After 15 days in the hospital, I was released – with no deficits.
Today, I instruct eight workouts a week. My energy is restored, and my perspective is clear: I am a walking miracle. God aligned the best surgeons and brought me through the toughest challenge of my life. Every day is a gift to be lived to the fullest.
New Albany resident Nicole Carter is a Nationally Certified Group Fitness instructor who conducts fitness classes at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and at LA Fitness in New Albany.
Editor's Note: "My Story" is a first-person column about health issues that touch New Albany community members. Have a story to share? Email gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com. Submissions should be no more than 500 words.
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