A survivor’s story — Doneeka Brown St Dic talks life after brain aneurysm

The unexpected can always be lurking around the corner, ready to pounce when you least expect it. Doneeka Brown St Dic left Jamaica for the United States, settling into her life as a wife, a new co-homeowner, and a banker. After contracting and conquering COVID-19 back in March 2020, she was faced with another life-threatening abnormality, a brain aneurysm, the following year.

“On March 16, 2021, I woke up from a restful night’s sleep and had a temperature. My husband also had a fever, so we decided to notify our respective jobs. We were told to get tested for COVID-19 before going into work. I felt a tightness in my chest on my way and it got worse by the minute. After getting tested, it got so bad that I could barely walk back to the car. A doctor on site told me to go to the emergency room because it might be a lung infection. Once I was screened, they decided to keep me and do a CAT scan of my lung. It turned out that neither I nor my husband had COVID,” she explained to The Sunday Gleaner.

It was while seated on the cat scan bench that something felt off. Before she could question any further, everything went dark. She woke up days later at Boston Medical Centre (BMC). “I was surrounded by machines all attached to me, making loud beeping noises and a team of about 11 doctors were asking me a series of questions,” she said, all of which were met with the answer “hmm”.

Brown St Dic had become a patient at the hospital and was informed that she had suffered a seizure on the cat scan bench. The medical team scanned her brain and discovered the tragedy: a blood vessel had burst and her brain was covered in blood, “I was airlifted from Carney Hospital to BMC while unconscious. BMC is known for having one of the best neurology departments in the country. When I woke up, I had already endured three brain surgeries.”

Unable to recall things like her name, she went on to spend two months in the intensive care unit, completing two more brain surgeries to carry the tally up to five. The fight of her life didn’t stop there.

After experiencing a stroke during her final surgery, she was paralysed on the right side for weeks. It remains unfathomable to her how she could go from strong and healthy one day to having complete dependence on medical care and support the next. Physically, this was the most challenging and taxing trauma. Emotionally, it was just as horrible. It wasn’t a battle she had signed up for, but one that she never gave up on, and one she never had to fight alone.

“I remember waking up to my husband whispering to me, ‘Dee, you have to make it. Please we need you to make it. I can’t do this without you. Keep fighting. You can do this; you are strong,’ his voice was laden with tears. My mother was on the first flight out from Jamaica once she found out and I had friends and family praying nonstop so I had to try my best not to give up despite the pains.”

Describing her husband and my mother as a team of superheroes without capes, they were backed by the unending strength and courage of family members and friends, doctors, nurses, and therapists displaying love, support, hope, and faith.

According to Brown St Dic’s research, a brain aneurysm, more commonly known as a blood vessel bursting in the head, is often triggered by smoking, heavy drinking, drug usage, consecutively high blood pressure, or a family history of a brain aneurysm. She showed no signs or symptoms. The only thing that presented cause for concern was a possible lung infection due to the prior conditions of COVID-19.

With one in 50 persons surviving a rupture of this magnitude, she feels undoubtedly blessed beyond measure for the positive outcome, “The neurosurgeon Dr Dasenbrock said based on the amount of blood covering your brain, it’s a miracle that you are alive. Most patients don’t make it. I am truly grateful.”

Life after facing tragedy head-on included a rocky road to recovery. She was transferred to Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital, where she spent about three weeks receiving physical therapy. There, the brain aneurysm survivor learned how to walk again. In addition, she was given occupational therapy to help with coordination of seemingly ‘simple tasks’ like wiping a countertop, a very hard task to do at first, along with speech and cognitive therapy to determine what level of memory loss she had and stimulate her capacity to remember words and engage in expression.

“Everyone who survives a ruptured brain aneurysm loses something and without therapy, you just never know what it is or how you can fix it. My short-term memory is not what it used to be and some of my long-term memory has to be triggered for me to recall them.”

When she returned home, the team of therapists brought therapy to her refuge. Her session went on five days per week for approximately two months until she was able to do outpatient therapy. Miraculously, she is now able to walk on her own, conquer stepping the stairs while maintaining balance, cooking, and dressing herself.

“This is a huge win for me. I am able to structure my thoughts and my speech is almost back to normal, I do forget words and lose my chain of thought but it’s a work in progress.,” she revealed, adding, “I am most grateful for life. I embrace every moment knowing that I was afforded a second chance and I aim to not just survive but to strive,” she added.

One year later, she stands as an advocate for brain aneurysm awareness, with the hope that her story will inspire others to be more mindful and more aware of their bodies. “More and more people have this without any obvious symptoms or triggers. It can happen to anyone at any time. So, know your body and acknowledge when you are not feeling right. Don’t just push through pain; seek medical attention. Remember, being in the right place at the right time with the right people could save your life.”

With no definitive timeline of the full recovery established, she continues to be monitored by a team of specialists. Life, as she knew it, changed in an instant, but she endured her illness with great fortitude, evident in her beauty, radiance, and resilience. Holding on to her faith in God, she remains appreciative of her circle for their prayers, gaining strength from her own devotion to the divinity as well.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com