On April 9,1997, my fiancee, Sophia, was found by her brother passed away in bed. There was no indication of what was wrong so an autopsy was performed. It revealed that Sophia had a ruptured aneurysm in her right cerebellum.
There had been no clue to indicate an aneurysm existed. She had been suffering from a severe cold for several days so any headache that might have announced the aneurysm was written off. If she did suffer the sudden, severe headache so many people describe, no one was there to help.
I can't help but wonder if she had collasped at work or when someone was around if she couldn't have been saved. Sophia never complained about anything so no one knew if she had suffered severe pain prior to her death. Sophia was three weeks from her 29th birthday when she died. She was a beautiful, vibrant woman, full of life. I know that my life changed forever on the day that she died, for the worse.
Knowing what I do now about aneurysms, I believe that the possibility that Sophia had an aneurysm might have arisen and something done to help her. It's easy to have hindsight, but why don't people know about aneurysms? Maybe they aren't common, but people hear about rare medical conditions every day. I guess aneurysms aren't a newsworthy, glamorous medical condition.
I hope that somehow the world will learn more about aneurysms and the swift, merciless death that they can bring.