The silent killer who took my father's life, my aunt's life, and that one day can take my life
Arrive 15 minutes beforehand. Avoid eating or drinking after midnight. Remove all jewelry and metal materials. Preparation was easy, although one perforation in the septum, one in the nose, one in the navel, one in the nipple, and several perforations in the lobe and cartilage took a long time. I stood in the mirror with emu oil and pliers and slowly removed every bolt, post and ring. However, when I reached the center of the picture, I was ready. It was time for my biennial ARM.
For unknown people, MRA or magnetic resonance angiography is a non-invasive test that allows doctors to discover and diagnose conditions that affect blood vessels, including those in the head, neck, chest, and chest. Heart. And although many my age have never seen (and may never see) the inside of an MRA machine, my brain has been scanned multiple times because my family has a history of aneurysms (aneurysms, brain to be precise) and this silent murderer killed several people in Curlik.
My aunt was diagnosed with six in her thirties. My father died of it at the age of 39.
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I spend some time reading in the waiting room. I browse shiny lifestyle magazines about wellness, fitness and small houses. I leaf through brochures and leaflets that promote new technologies. (Now there is something like an open MRI. Instead of sliding into the small coffin tube of a conventional MRI machine, it rests on a table with most of its body exposed.) And I do that by scrolling through Facebook. I watch dozens of Insta stories until a young man calls me.
He takes me to a cold room without a window and asks me to undress.
I lie on a body-sized tray with a thin paper dress. Instructions are given. The parameters are checked, then the machine starts to run. I close my eyes and there I see it: flashes of my past and what my life could be like if this test detects something. If something goes wrong.
Radiance. I am in my living room. The furniture has been moved. The coffee table was pushed back and the sofa on the side. In the middle of the floor are unfolded clothes, an oxygen mask and two resuscitation paddles, which are covered with my father's chest hair.
Radiance. When I entered the hospital, my grandparents were informed about my father's whereabouts: the CICU. The corridors are wide and white. The tiles are polished and with the exception of the cafeteria, the building stinks of alcohol and bleach.
Radiance. Two seemingly heavy doors open to a guarded room and (yet another) room. I meet my mother, her brothers, my grandmother and my aunt. I hear words I know thanks to George Clooney and ER, but I don't understand them. Things like aneurysm, emergency, cardiac arrest, and code blue. And I'm sitting on a rigid sofa covered with vinyl and brown fabrics. Used scarves. There are so many that I have to separate the soaked sheets.
Radiance. I see my father. Your eyes are closed. His head is shaved and the tubes extend from the hands, nose, mouth, chest and brain. I don't touch it, but I imagine it's cold. Your breathing (like your life) is clinical. A bulky letterhead machine does all the work.
Radiance. The priest comes in.
Radiance. The papers are signed.
Radiance. The phone rings and my mother cries.
Radiance. My father died eight days after the crash. Eight days later, the blood clot in his brain suddenly exploded.
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Aneurysms affect millions of people every year. A cerebral (or cerebral) aneurysm is a thin or weak area in an artery in the brain that can cause the vessel to swell or swell. The good news is that most aneurysms can be treated with a stent, clipping, and / or endovascular coil, a minimally invasive technique that blocks blood flow to the aneurysm. In addition, the vast majority pose few problems. It is believed that one in 50 Americans has (or will have) an aneurysm, and most will never need surgery or have no symptoms.
However, with all aneurysms there is a risk of rupture, leading to serious complications and even death
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