It could have been me
“IT IS with great sadness and grief that my cousin Isabel Granada peacefully joined our creator at 18:00 today with the comfort of the family,” OSTED Joseph Rivera, when actress Isabel
Granada passed away in Qatar. Granada, who gained fame as among the regulars on the TV show “That’s Entertainment,” had been in coma for a little over a week after suffering brain hemorrhage. And her death shook me. Not that I’m a fan. Or that she’s a close friend. I don’t know Ms. Granada from Eve. But I do know what took her. Sub hemorrhage (SAH). The same disease that could have taken me from this earth in 2009. Being stricken by SAH is a very unpleasant experience. Back then, I experienced a thunderclap headache, like being hit with a sledgehammer.
I lost of control of body movements. Maintain my balance by leaning on the wall. Vomited endlessly. Then nausea and loss of consciousness. I was brought to the ICU of the nearest hospital. My attending physician noted my blood pressure shot up to 220, just 10 points shy of 230 threshold that could result in death.
Yet my BP refused to go down below 180. Dr. Mario Y. Marchadesch, my attending neurosurgeon, confirmed the SAH. Brain aneurysm. The slightest movement could rupture the blood clot and I would die within days. Utmost, within six months.
The SAH literature says intra-parenchymal
Phematomas occur in up to 30 percent of patients with ruptured aneurysms, and have a worse outcome than SAH alone. A sudden deterioration in level of consciousness within the first few hours suggests further bleeding. SAH has a mortality rate of 5180 percent. Says Dr. Marchadesch pointed out in a Facebook post, “Subarachnoid hemorrhage is also known as 30-30-30 where I come from. 30 percent of people who have a SAH do NOT make it to the hospital.
30 percent of those who do, do not survive the first 24 hours, and only 30 percent of those who survive the ordeal, get back to normal living. It’s a devastating illness.” He added, “I know of neurosurgeons who shy away from SAH referrals because of the frustration and depression it brings.” And then there’s the financial constraint.
Says, Dr. Marchadesch, “Dahil critical na ang marami? Or walang magapag gamot nang maayos? Mahirap talaga aneurysm.” He gave me a choice. Risk a brain surgery without a guarantee of recovery but an assurance of poverty to those I will leave behind.
Or entrust everything to God. Let His will be done. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Seven years forward, I’m still around, no longer to do many things. But when I committed my spirit, that means I have to surrender and entrust my remaining time to Him. The choice was easy for me. (bqsanc@yahoo.com) SSBacolod