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Brain Go BOOM! Author/Survivor: John Cooper Chapter 10: My African Princess I forget her name but I remember her smile. For one reason or another, there was a complication with my central IV line and they had to remove it and insert a new one. After several failed attempts by several nurses and doctors, I lay exhausted and pain ridden in the hospital bed with four or five additional needle holes from the failed attempts. I was beat and some of my veins had collapsed at that point. The staff was in and out, trying everything possible to get a new line started—tourniquets, slapping my arms and even my legs and feet, all in an attempt to find at least one good, viable vein. You know that moment when you think you can’t take anymore? That was this moment. Then, a familiar face with a great big smile walked into my room. She knew I was exhausted. I’d seen this resident at least a dozen times and we talked frequently. She had told me her story of moving from Africa in hopes of completing her lifelong dream of becoming a physician. She carefully inspected all my veins and located a viable one on my left arm. After she injected Lidocaine, a local anesthetic, around the site and inserted the new IV on the first shot, she put her hand in mine and smiled. I said, “You are my African Princess.” As she was leaving, she asked if she could get me anything. I said, “I could really go for a root beer. I probably can’t have a real beer, right?” She shook her head no and I nodded off to sleep. The next thing I heard was the gentle metal clang of a root beer can being placed on my bedside table. She smiled and said, “I couldn’t find the Pennsylvania root beer that you wanted. They only had A&W at the store.” I graciously smiled and said, “Thank you.” Page 30 of 167
Brain Go BOOM! Author/Survivor: John Cooper Chapter 11: Am I Having Another Brain Aneurysm? W hat the hell is going on? The fierce pain was back! My head felt like it was going to explode! “Somebody please help me!” The staff, looking overly concerned, were running in and out of my room. Doctors and nurses quickly surrounded me. I asked, “Did the surgery not work?” Dr. Eyebrows said, “Mr. Cooper, what is your pain level from 1-10?” (Mind you I have a very high tolerance for pain. I walked around with a ruptured brain aneurysm for over seven days before I went to the hospital.) BOOM! “It’s a 10! What the hell is going on doc?” “Mr. Cooper, I think you are having vasospasms.” I thought, Oh crap, this could be the end. Vasospasms are a life-threatening complication which sometimes occurs after my type of brain surgery. To that point, I was like a survivor of a plane that made a crash landing into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I survived it, but then that same plane was filling up with water blocking the exit aisles, jamming the doors closed and I can’t get out. That’s how serious vasospasms are. They are a common side effect after a ruptured brain aneurysm. This complication was explained to me and my family and was a mini refresher course from my nursing days. The blood vessels in the brain can go into spasm causing the blood vessels to constrict, which could cause a stroke, permanent brain damage or even death. Kink the middle of the hose while someone is trying to wash their car. You know what happens; but, this was happening with the decreased blood flow in my brain. Dr. Eyebrows had four or five students with him, as this was a teaching university hospital. The excruciating pain came on fast and furious with an insidious cycle. To me, the vasospasms seemed to last about twenty minutes or so, but I wasn’t looking at a clock. The doctor and the students performed a quick neurological exam. Some of the students nervously looked concerned as they observed the numerous monitors which were beeping, chirping and repeatedly sounding off their ear piercing alarms. It was nonstop chaos. Page 31 of 167
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