I'd like to share with you my boyfriend's story. His name is Herbert Joseph "Joe" Crenshaw III, and he was 50 years old. The picture above was taken on February 10, 2000 as his retirement photograph.
On Monday, February 28, 2000 he had a massive brain aneurysm. Early that morning (1 a.m. ish) he seemed fine when I said good night to him. (He did not complain of a headache.) At about 9:40 a.m. I said goodbye to him and headed home. I called him at about 10:20 a.m. to tell him our meeting had been postponed by 30-45 minutes. At about 11:20 a.m., he had been driving for about five minutes when his brain aneurysm burst. From what I know I would say he had some control of his vehicle at times. The car crashed, but neither he nor anyone else was hurt from the accident. He made it to the hospital thanks to a motorist named Kim, who stopped to help him. Kim told me there was still dust in the air from the accident when she got there. (No one saw the accident apparently.) She was the first to call for help. Both air bags had deployed, and he was still seat belted in. He was slumped over. She told me his hands were clenched, and he appeared to be having a seizure (she experiences seizures herself). She took the seat belt off of him. He tried to hold his head up on his own, but she told him to just relax. She told him she needed to know if he could hear her though. He could not speak, so she asked him to squeeze her hand if he could hear her. He wasn't able to do this, but she said tears came from his eyes. I still wonder to this day if he could really hear her or if this was just a coincidental involuntary action. ???
I understand on the way to the hospital he went into fully cardiac arrest. On the first try, he came back. He was stabilized but remained unresponsive and in the deepest coma possible and still be alive. (He only had bruising as a result of the car accident.) The bleeding was so massive that the only brain activity was some occasional breathing on his own. He was placed on a ventilator to assist his breathing. When I saw him in the emergency room about three hours after the accident, his right eye opened partially and tears came from it. I still wonder if he knew I was there and whether the tears were just an involuntary coincidence again. ???
During his two days in the hospital, the number of breaths he took on his own decreased. The doctors stated he would never lead a normal life again if he ever did regain consciousness. Several people stated that in conversations with Joe he never wanted to live if he could not function fully. To honor his wishes, on Wednesday evening March 1, 2000 he was taken off the ventilator. After about 30 minutes at 5:56 p.m. he passed away. Joe was an organ donor, so both of his kidneys were donated.
I love you Joe. I miss you so much.
I'd like to thank everyone for sharing their stories. I have found myself obsessed with finding out as much as I can about what happened to Joe. Your stories have helped answer some of my questions and have helped me to not feel quite so alone. Thank you again. Please feel free to e-mail me.