I was finished bathing and just rinsing my hair when I experienced the worst pain I have ever felt. It was so severe, I was sure it was something serious. I dried off and went into the bedroom and sat on the bed beside my husband, trying to decide if I should wake him or not. After some thought, which probably took all of 5 seconds, I decided to wake him. He heard the fear in my voice and was up in a flash. We called an ambulance, which took me to a local hospital. After I described the sudden onset of pain and the severity, they examined me and asked routine questions - anyone in family have stroke, etc. - yes my father - they decided I had a migraine and sent me home. If pain persisted, I was to see my family physician.

That afternoon, and every day for a week, I had to see my family Dr. I was afraid he was going to charge me rent for being there so much lol! He sent me for blood tests, CT scan, examined me and decided it was meningitis. Boy were we relieved. I told my husband I was glad it was nothing life threatening, because I wasn’t ready to leave him. He was also happy, because he wasn’t ready to let me go. Little did we know how serious it was.

I was finally sent to a neurologist and after a thorough exam, he said he would go along with my family DR’s diagnosis of meningitis; and the reason I was so sore and stiff was because I was resting for so long - 9 days. He wouldn’t bother putting me through a Lumbar Puncture - dah

Well since there was nothing seriously wrong with me, I had to go back to work and resume normal activity. That night, I had some letters to write, and some odds and ends to do before going back to work. I was getting ready for bed when it happened again - WOW! It was that pain again, I managed to tell my husband and let him know I wanted nothing to do with that 1st hospital, then I lost consciousness. I don’t remember too much after that. I have flashes of a few things I remember, but mostly I forget everything for 3 months. On Feb. 15, 1993, I had surgery to repair the aneurysm. The surgery was at Hershey Medical Center. Even now in 1999, I am still recovering. It isn’t as quick as in the beginning, but it happens.

I have support and love that is a must for recovery. I feel very lucky to be able to recall my ordeal. I do have some disability, but I have learned to deal with it. The hardest thing was to learn how to do things with my left hand and deal with my voice.

I hope this gives you an idea of what happened. I still get very angry and bitter. Remembering how I used to be is still very hard.

Email Sally