Brain Aneurysm Foundation

I'm fundraising for the Brain Aneurysm Foundation! 

August 17, 1987...
38 years ago today...
I was sleeping on my Mom's side in my parent’s bed on 32nd Avenue & 201st Street in Bayside... my Dad sat on the bed and woke me up... the sun was coming through the windows as my dad told me that my Mom was in heaven. That's still a lot to take in even now, as an adult, much less being the 6 year old child that I was back then...
Just 4 days earlier, I woke up in the middle of the night in my own bed. I saw at the end of the hallway, the light was on in my parent's bedroom. I got out of bed, and walked down the hallway to see what was going on. My Mom was lying in the bed... my Dad was on the phone... my Dad saw me walk into the room and he told me that mom was sick and he had to take her to the doctor so my grandma and grandpa were going to come stay with my sister and me. He asked me to go downstairs and unlock the front door for them. I went downstairs to the front door, and I cried as I struggled, but I couldn’t get the lock to open. I went back upstairs to tell my dad that I couldn't do it, and he told me to sit with my Mom while he went to open it. My Mom was mumbling incoherently. I placed my hand on hers and told her to hang in there and she was going to be okay. My Dad came back upstairs and he told me to go back to bed and that when I woke up, my grandparents would be there. I told my Mom that I loved her, and I returned to bed. I must've fallen back to sleep and this time when I woke up again, I saw lights and a lot of people in the hallway... police, EMS workers, etc... I sat up in bed, and my grandmother saw me... she came to my room, and brought me downstairs to the living room. My family members and close neighborhood friends were in the living room with us... The police suggested that they moved my sister and I out of the room as they brought my Mom down the stairs on a stretcher... The next few days are a blur... I don't remember them at all, until the morning of August 17, 1987.

My Mother was an active, healthy person. She was a non-smoker. She didn't do anything to put herself at a higher risk for aneurysms. She played sports her whole life... CYO basketball and softball for Sacred Heart in Bayside, NY... softball, volleyball, and basketball for Bayside High School... softball for St. John's University... she coached softball for Sacred Heart... she coached basketball for Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Bayside, and she played softball for McElroy's and Donovan's in the Bayside Women's Softball League.

My Mom was only 29 years old when she died. In those 29 years, she was a devoted mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, teammate, and coach. She touched many lives and made many memories.

The Brain Aneurysm Foundation's slogan is "Raising Awareness. Ending Fear." Up until 12 years ago, my sister and I were unaware of the risk level we were at, and precautions and tests we could take to have ourselves checked.

I lived with a lot of fear... Fear that the same thing that happened to my Mom would happen to me. I cannot begin to describe the anxiety I had on my 28th birthday, thinking I may only have one year left to live... my 29th birthday, thinking this could be it... my 30th birthday realizing that I just outlived my Mother... fear that if I had a headache, just as my Mom had, that it could mean the end of my life.

In the last few years, the Brain Aneurysm Foundation has made major breakthroughs in establishing the risks, warning signs, symptoms, and treatments of brain aneurysms.

Thanks to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, I'm more educated about what happened to my Mom. And thanks to the amazing research and treatment, more aneurysms are being detected, less are rupturing, and even when one ruptures, people still have a chance of surviving.

For the last 13 years, my family has been participating in the fundraising walk at Jones Beach to help raise awareness, and help raise money for this much needed research. At this event, we've met brain aneurysm survivors, who are there just months out of having brain surgery, we’ve met doctors performing these surgeries, and we've met families who suffered devastating losses like we did. The Brain Aneurysm Foundation's website helped to educate my sister and I about the higher risk that we are at and tests that we should have done. We want to share that information with you and your friends and families.

The goals of this event are to increase awareness about the warning signs of a brain aneurysm, as well as to help raise funds to support essential research that may directly benefit those affected and help to reduce the incidence of ruptured aneurysms. The money raised will benefit the Brain Aneurysm Foundation.

https://give.bafound.org/site/TR/Events/General?team_id=13816&pg=team&fr_id=2795

OUR MISSION: To promote early detection of brain aneurysms by providing knowledge and raising awareness of the signs, symptoms and risk factors. Work with the medical communities to provide support networks for patients and families, as well as to further research that will improve patient outcomes and save lives.

Through your support, the Brain Aneurysm Foundation will be able to continue to provide support and educational materials and information to brain aneurysm patients, their families, and the medical community and to promote critical awareness of brain aneurysms which will lead to earlier detection. The Brain Aneurysm Foundation is funding essential research that will promote a better understanding of why this condition happens and identify those at risk before an aneurysm rupture occurs. 

Thank you for making a difference with your support!