Simran’s story: From rare brain aneurysm diagnosis to miraculous recovery
- HBA Support
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
When Simran looks back at the start of 2020, she remembers a house that felt full and busy. She was 23, studying for her Master’s, and her mum was the centre of everyday family life: healthy, energetic and the person who kept everyone steady. Nothing about that day suggested it would be any different from the others they had lived through during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic that every household was beginning to navigate.
So when her mother mentioned feeling nauseous, it didn’t immediately cause alarm. It was only when the feeling didn’t pass that the family decided to seek help. That decision, small at the time, became the turning point in everything that followed. Simran said, “I went from studying health systems in theory to living through a medical emergency no textbook could prepare me for.”
At the hospital, scans revealed three brain aneurysms, and one had already ruptured. Simran captured the shock in a few clear words: “My healthy, 49-year-old mother was rushed to the ER with sudden nausea and within hours doctors found three brain aneurysms, one already ruptured.”
Brain aneurysms - a condition they knew almost nothing about
Before this experience, aneurysms were something Simran had only ever read about. Suddenly she was being asked to absorb statistics that felt far too big for the small hospital room they were sitting in. She says, “There are almost 500,000 deaths worldwide each year caused by brain aneurysms, and half the victims are younger than 50.”
“My mother didn’t fit those numbers. She wasn’t unwell. She didn’t have any symptoms leading up to that day. That was perhaps the hardest part to grasp: my mother’s initial symptom, nausea, was deceptively mild.”
The long wait in ICU
In the hospital, emergency coiling was carried out quickly. Then came the part many families describe as the most difficult: the waiting. Days became centred around updates from staff, tiny signs of change, and the hope that the news would be good. Of course, the pandemic added an extra layer of uncertainty, with restricted visiting and limited in-person reassurance.
However, the news was good – and the outcome was far better than doctors initially prepared them for. Simran says, “The fact that my mother emerged from the brain ICU after 10 days with no memory loss or paralysis… was nothing short of miraculous. Even with hormonal changes and fatigue, she was still herself. That alone felt like a gift.”
Not the end of the story - two brain aneurysms remained
For Simran and her mum, this initial procedure wasn’t the end of the story. Two aneurysms remained, and the family faced another decision, this time without the panic of an emergency, but with the weight of what they had already lived through.
Simran explained, “Given that two smaller aneurysms remained, her neurosurgeons recommended an endovascular coiling procedure in August 2020 to prevent future ruptures.”
It took discussion, second opinions, and gathering every question they could think of. She reflected, “What’s clear is that the decision must be made carefully, considering size, location, the patient’s medical history and the procedural risk. In my mother’s case, given her multiple aneurysms, the benefits of preventive intervention far outweighed the risks.”
What the experience taught them
During her mother’s recovery, Simran began writing to make sense of what had happened. Three messages kept rising to the surface:
“Recognising brain aneurysm symptoms saves lives.” Even small symptoms matter.
“Timely medical intervention is key.” Simran’s mother survived because they didn’t wait.
“Preventive treatment should be considered.” Knowledge gives families choices, and choices give them control.
These lessons didn’t come from research papers or lectures. They came from living through the hardest days her family had faced.
"The more we understand, the more lives we can genuinely save"
Simran reached out to HBA Support because she wanted her mother’s experience to become something that could help someone else — the family who hesitates before going to A&E, the person who ignores a persistent symptom, or the loved one who feels lost in medical terminology.
Her motivation was simple and powerful: “This experience is more than just a personal story; it highlights the critical need for awareness and preparedness when it comes to brain aneurysms. My Mum’s story is not just ours – it is one that could happen to any family. By sharing these experiences, we make abstract medical conditions real, relatable, and urgent. The more we understand, the more lives we can genuinely save.”
For Simran, her mother’s recovery is a reminder of what awareness, instinct, timely care and persistence can achieve. And by choosing to share it through HBA Support, her family hopes it will reach the people who need it most.
Brain Aneurysm Resources and support
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