Day 1 in Myrtle Beach

Brain Aneurysm Day 1

Last Tuesday, Election Day, Dave and I headed to Myrtle Beach a day early to see our dear friends from Canada - Peter and Marianne Crowe. Marianne had been flown home in between her contract extension as a travelling nurse. The payroll conference I was registered for was scheduled to start Wednesday evening and run through Saturday morning. Tuesday at 2PM ET, Dave clutched his head and fell to the ground. Marianne - being the experienced ICU nurse extraordinaire, ran to his side, ready to perform CPR, with her hand on his pulse as Dave convulsed unconsciously on the ground. She kept him breathing until the ambulance and fire arrived within 4 minutes.

Because of where the aneurysm was - in the "Circle of Willis" or the command center for way too much stuff, the recommendation was to transfer to MUSC. Off we went - me driving the truck, and Dave in the ambulance.

My friend and neighbor Cindy Chitty met me at the hotel - that was a pleasant surprise to say the least! Strange coincidence - as we were wandering the halls trying to find which elevator to take, and then getting into Elevator D - Cindy says - that's Dave! My first thought was - that's impossible! But it was Dave and as they wheeled him into ICU we snuck in behind his stretcher. It was a short lived visit as they promptly escorted us out. 2 hours later we were allowed in - and Dave was being prepped for a 6:30 AM surgery. We were both in a bit of a panic, and this was the first time we heard this term "craniotomy." They let Dave make 3 calls to his sister, brother, and son. Very scary!