“A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”

I met an amazing brain aneurysm survivor today and these were some of the first words she said to me.  Lisa Foto is a walking, talking and living miracle.  Just a few weeks ago, Lisa and I connected through a mutual friend and made it a point to meet while she was in AZ visiting her daughter and newborn granddaughter.  We had only spoken once over the phone and exchanged emails a few times, but it wasn’t until today when I witnessed this living miracle myself.  After suffering from a ruptured aneurysm, Lisa spent five weeks in a coma and 52 days in the hospital, undergoing 18 surgeries to repair the damage that had been done as a result of this silent killer.  Just three years later, Lisa lives each moment to give back to others that have experienced what she did.  She visits Mission Hospital (where she was treated) regularly, speaking with patients and families in the NICU (Neuro Intensive Care Unit), encouraging them to perservere, fight the battle and be courageous through the struggles. 

Like many brain aneurysm victims, Lisa’s rupture came with no warning signs.  She was in the middle of a routine exercise workout with her personal trainer when she collapsed.  Immediately rushed to the hospital, a CT scan determined what Lisa had experienced was a subarachnoid hemorrhage.   50-60% of ruptured aneurysm victims die within minutes and nearly 30% will survive, but with severe deficits.  The fact that Lisa has experienced a 100% recovery is truly a miracle…and she knows it.  She tells others, “My life is evidence it’s possible to survive.”

I am so blessed to have met Lisa today and look forward to the work we will do together in helping educate others on the importance of early detection.  We both experienced this enemy from different perspectives – me having lost my father to one, and Lisa having survived an aneurysm that normally results in fatality.  The differences bring together a commonality…a passion to make a difference and I have no doubt that together we will.  Thank you God, for bringing Lisa in my life. 

To read Lisa’s amazing story, including pictures, click here.

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