I am participating in Running Against Ruptures on June 23, 2019.

This is my story

You have probably heard the term: Life is full of surprises. Some are happy surprises and others create twists in our path that catch us off guard. For me, one such surprise occurred back in March 2009. I live in Waterloo, Ontario and am a former elementary school teacher, a wife, a mother of three and a grandmother to two little ones. Now, I am also a brain aneurysm survivor turned thriver and I know my calling is to teach people about brain aneurysms and help get the word out about awareness, prevention and support.

March 2009 I had just dismissed my Kindergarten students and was freshening up in the washroom before rushing off to a board meeting. Suddenly, I experienced pain in my head unlike anything I had ever known. I felt a pop in my head and I knew something was wrong. I tried some meditative breathing techniques to help manage the headache but nothing worked. The pain increased and I felt nauseous. Suddenly my left leg would not hold me and I sat on the floor. My phone was in my classroom. I steadied myself and waited for someone to find me. I knew the custodian would be around shortly. Luckily another teacher stopped in and found me on the floor. Some other school staff came to may aid. Strangely enough I was coherent and able to communicate. At this point, I started to help the teaching staff plan for the couple days I thought I would be off work! I really wasn’t listening to my body and this is one of the first lessons I learned. For me, I had headaches for two years prior to the aneurysm and a stiff neck. These are signs I should have paid more attention to. I just didn’t know.

My husband was called to come and pick me up. He did and drove me to our family doctor. They in turn sent me to Grand River Hospital in Kitchener/Waterloo. My ruptured aneurysm was diagnosed. Grand River Hospital does not treat brain injuries so I needed a bed in London, Hamilton or Toronto. I was flown to London Health Sciences Centre for treatment. I had a CT Angio of the brain, formal digital subtraction angio and post operative cerebral angio. These testing procedures allowed my neurologist, Dr. Lownie, to determine the location of the aneurysm and the severity. He wouldn’t know how to proceed however until he started the surgery. I underwent six hours of surgery and remained in the hospital for 3 ½ weeks. They kept me so long because of pulses in my brain, indicating a possible stroke. I was determined not to have one. Through it all I knew that I was so fortunate to survive the aneurysm. It was truly miraculous. I felt I needed to do everything in my power to regain my strength and cognitive abilities.

After my release from hospital, I was sent home. Life would continue on, but things had definitely changed for me. I didn’t receive any rehabilitation as at the time it didn’t seem to be required. I soon found out that I wasn’t as unscathed as I was thought to be regardless of how hard I tried to hide it. I had headache pain and was fatigued. In my recovery, I knew I wanted to turn the obstacles into stepping stones. I would not let the gift of my life be wasted. Someone once said that challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. Most of all, my experience has helped me look at life differently. I want to live my life to the fullest and not sweat the small stuff. In my recovery, I struggled to focus, read and write. I felt that I couldn’t continue to be an elementary school teacher and although I looked "normal" on the outside, I was different emotionally and physically. Looks are deceiving. They didn’t see me struggle, nor did they know I felt so tired all the time. I was embarrassed of my brain injury. It took me years to accept it. Now I am an avid advocate of awareness.

I am delighted to be sharing my message with you. Awareness, research and early detection are key.

Margaret Mackay-Calder