Brain Aneurysm Foundation

I'm fundraising for the Brain Aneurysm Foundation! 

Brain Aneurysms affect 1 in 50 people. A brain aneurysm ruptures every 18 minutes.

In the fall of 2011 after a routine visit to my neurologist to discuss my chronic migraines, I was diagnosed with an unruptured cerebral aneurysm.

At 22 I had no real concept of how serious the diagnosis was until suddenly I was meeting with a neurosurgeon talking about cracking my skull open and looking at my scans like this surgery was going to be the highlight of his career.

In mid-January 2012 I got second opinion at MGH with Dr. Christopher Ogilvy — one of the co-founders of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. While the surgery didn’t sound any less scary to me or my family, I knew he was at the forefront of research and would be my best bet at a positive outcome. Leaving that appointment with a surgery scheduled for the spring I felt like there was a ticking time bomb in my brain threatening to kill me at any moment. A week later I got a call from the office saying there was an earlier appointment for surgery…in a week.

February 12, 2012, I had a craniotomy and clipping. According to my husband, Dr. Ogilvy came skipping out of surgery saying how well everything went. I spent a few nights in the hospital in horrible pain before moving to a hotel down the road for another few nights. I suffered with double vision for weeks after while the swelling went down, and I remember feeling like the world was moving so fast and my thoughts just couldn’t keep up. It took me months before I could get through the day without pain or intense fatigue. It took months more for me to feel like a human being capable of complex intelligent thought. It’s been 14 years and I still have pain and complications from that surgery.

Over a decade later in 2022 another follow up with my neurologist resulted in a second aneurysm diagnosis. Dr. Ogilvy called me while I was in the backyard with the kids—pretty sure the whole conversation was “Hey Christina, so there’s another small aneurysm but we’ll get it taken care of. I think we can do it endovascularly, ok? No problem, alright? Have a nice night.”

January 18, 2023 I went into Beth Israel for surgery. I had one tiny incision in my groin, spent one night in the hospital, and went home the next day in minimal pain. 6 weeks later I was back to work. It was still no walk in the park, but in comparison? Dr. Ogilvy was right, it was no problem.

Brain Aneurysms affect 1 in 50 people. A brain aneurysm ruptures every 18 minutes. Ruptured brain aneurysms are fatal in about 50% of cases. Of those who survive, about 66% suffer some permanent neurological deficit.

The Brain Aneurysm Foundation is the globally recognized leader in brain aneurysm awareness, education, support, advocacy, and research funding. Your donation to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation goes directly to critical research efforts focused on reducing the incidence of brain aneurysm ruptures, to create new diagnostics to better prevent ruptures and interventions to transform treatment. To date they have raised $6.5MM and have funded more than 200 research projects.

I am proof positive that the Brain Aneurysm Foundation saves lives. I was lucky to have had an early diagnosis not once, but twice. I have personally benefited from the medical advancements and research made, thanks in no small part to fundraisers like this one. This foundation means so much to me and my family. It would mean so much to me if you would consider donating any small amount.