Brain Aneurysm Warrior - Hilda Albazi

Dear friends and family of Hilda,

As some of you may know, and for those who don’t, Hilda suffered a massive (grade 5) subarachnoid hemorrhage (ruptured brain aneurysm) on the right side of her brain on December 28th. Rehabilitation for Hilda could take 18 months or possibly longer to return to the quality of life she had prior to the aneurysm. Unfortunately, Hilda’s insurance only covers up to 6 weeks of rehab. Without therapy, the chances of Hilda making advancements in her recovery are slim to none. With that said, the next chapter in her treatment plan is critical. Hilda’s road to recovery will be long and costly. We are creating this fund to help support Hilda through her recovery and reduce the stress of the financial burden. Our initial goal is to raise funds to support the medical costs accumulated during her rehabilitation. Any additional funds will be used to support Hilda’s care when she returns home.

A Message from the Albazi Family:

If you’ve ever met Hilda, you’ve probably been inspired by her approach to life and how she treats people. She has invested so much of her life to help others; always quick to put others’ needs before her own. Now we have the opportunity to show Hilda what she means to all of us by putting her recovery front and center, helping her return to being the outstanding wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend that we all know her to be. Throughout this challenging time, we have witnessed our mom’s incredible strength and grace, and she has proven time and time again that she has the will to make it through this storm. Any size donation will be deeply appreciated and will provide Hilda with the direct financial support required during her journey to recovery. Thank you so much for your thoughts, prayers, and support during this time.

Please follow along Hilda’s journey starting December 28th - present day:

Early afternoon on Tuesday, December 28th, Hilda felt something was wrong and called her daughter Mary, complaining of a massive headache. Mary heard the terror in Hilda’s voice and immediately called her husband Matthew to drive to Hilda’s location. Matthew was there within a few minutes, remaining on the phone with Mary. As soon as Matthew got to Hilda, it was evident that something was terribly wrong, and told Mary to call 911. Matthew was with Hilda until the ambulance arrived. The paramedics stabilized her to the best of their abilities and transported her to Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Michigan.

Hilda’s family knew this was a matter of life and death, which was confirmed when the medical team informed them they could not treat her, and that she would need to be transferred immediately to Royal Oak Beaumont. Upon her arrival, the neurosurgeon team would determine one of two things; either the damage from the ruptured aneurysm was fatal and beyond repair, or that she was a candidate for a procedure called endovascular coiling. The waiting period felt like days, but thankfully, Hilda was a candidate for the coiling procedure. After 4-6 hours in the operating room, the ruptured aneurysm was successfully coiled. Hilda was in critical condition, and it was a real possibility that she would not make it through the next 72 hours. Hilda miraculously made it past the 72-hour mark and was treated in ICU for the next 21 days. During the 21 days in ICU, Hilda was put on a ventilator and underwent two additional procedures to treat vasospasms occurring in her brain. In addition to all of this, Hilda was also battling pneumonia and other infections. After 14 days of no signs of waking, the medical team recommended Hilda be put on a tracheostomy to protect her lungs.

At the end of the 21 days, the medical team identified Hilda as being in a persistent vegetative state, and no one could predict if Hilda would ever return to her “normal” self again. However, she recovered from pneumonia and the other infections, demonstrated no signs of additional vasospasms, and her vitals were considered stable. On January 19th, Hilda was transferred from the ICU to the Neurology floor, where she continued to receive around-the-clock care. After weeks of minimal improvement in her functionality, the medical team shared that Hilda’s presenting baseline was concerning. They hoped that she would be functioning at a higher level by now. Although that was devastating to hear, we remained hopeful and continued to support Hilda every step of the way. On January 25th, after 27 excruciatingly long days of no activity, Hilda finally overcame a huge barrier and showed signs of wakefulness! She slowly responded to the command, “squeeze my hand, mom.” Her response genuinely felt like a miracle.

From January 25th to February 5th, Hilda began to show increasing signs of responsiveness and following commands. However, on February 7th, something went wrong. Hilda abruptly stopped following commands; she was no longer making eye contact, no longer tracking her eyes to moving objects, and was uncontrollably shaking in her hospital bed. She underwent an MRI, which indicated signs of a condition called hydrocephalus (meaning a potentially dangerous/fatal amount of fluid in the brain and enlarged ventricles). On February 8th, Hilda underwent yet another procedure to treat hydrocephalus by implanting a permanent shunt that drains the fluid from Hilda's brain to her stomach. This procedure, like those before, had no guarantees of a favorable neurological outcome. On February 16th, Hilda had a follow-up CT scan. Unfortunately, the size of the ventricles and the amount of fluid did not improve. The medical team readjusted the shunt to help drain fluid more quickly, and after a couple of days, Hilda began to show signs of progress in her function/wakefulness. Although she was disoriented, she began to verbally engage with her family and the medical team. By March 6th, another CT showed little to no change in the fluid and ventricles, resulting in a second adjustment to the drain.

Currently, Hilda is often displaying confusion and shows inconsistent signs of memory and awareness. She does not remember why she is at the hospital and cannot recognize her family. However, she has started to talk about familiar things in her life and mentions a familiar name now and then. Hilda’s first sign of wakefulness began with a flicker of a finger, and now she can move her arms and legs. The recovery process has been slow, but every little sign of progress is a huge victory and indicates that she is heading in the right direction.

As of March 8th, Hilda has made additional improvements. The medical team removed her tracheostomy, and she passed a swallow test, meaning she could begin to eat pureed food. Her advancements indicate that Hilda is stable and no longer requires the hospital's level of care. This week, she will finally leave the hospital and transition to a rehabilitation facility where she will live full-time and participate in intense physical, occupational, and speech therapy. With your help and a lot of hard work, Hilda will eventually regain her strength and functionality to live the life she was living prior to the subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Please continue to check-in for periodic updates, and thank you again from the bottom of our hearts!