Mo. Aneurysm Survivor Benefits From Quick Response
Nov. 12--WARRENSBURG -- Connie Ridge, 45, does not recall the night of Aug. 28. Or was it Aug. 29?
Husband, Brian Ridge, 44, remembers everything: Connie going to bed to sleep off a headache, but getting up and grabbing her head due to intense pain.
"Around 8:30 or 9, she began having a seizure and she wouldn't respond to us," Brian said.
Paramedics responded, treating Connie's stroke-like symptoms and taking her to St. Luke's East, Lee's Summit, which moved her to St. Luke's on the Plaza.
There, doctors told Brian that Connie suffered a ruptured anterior cerebral aneurysm -- a broken blood vessel in the front of her brain.
"They gave me no false hope," Brian said. "They said she would have weeks, months of recovery."
Doctors said Connie's motor skills and personality could change.
"I was worried she wouldn't like me anymore," Brian said. "The only thing I've noticed is her voice is quieter."
Two months after the aneurysm, Connie said she gets tired more quickly, but her short-term memory is returning, and she is cleared to get back to work.
Brian said the ambulance driver saved time by taking Connie immediately to a trauma center.
"I wish I knew who he was," Brian said. "Lots of things happened just right. The doctors are amazed at her recovery."
Copyright 2012 - The Daily Star-Journal, Warrensburg, Mo.
