24-year-old brain aneurysm survivor of Tonica shares her story, promotes awareness of condition

September is brain aneurysm awareness month

At 24-years-old, Brianna Halberg, of Tonica, survived a ruptured brain aneurysm that could’ve killed her.

On July 29, 2021, Halberg said she woke up like it was any other day and scrolled through Facebook until she felt the urge to throw up. She ran to the bathroom, was sick, dizzy, hot, had an intense headache and passed out on her bathroom floor.

Halberg said she woke up to her dog, Cash, nudging her awake and was able to call for help. Halberg was taken to St. Margaret’s in Peru and shortly after was flown from the Illinois Valley via helicopter for emergency surgery. Her heartbeat dropped to 20 beats per minute on her helicopter ride to Peoria. She survived her surgery, and after 14 days in the ICU, Halberg went home.

A brain aneurysm is a ballooning blood vessel in the brain, and if ruptured, it causes brain bleeding, or in other words, a stroke. Halberg’s neurosurgeon had one other patient younger than 50 with the condition. It’s a rare ailment to begin with, and even more rare for Halberg to have one in her early 20s.

Halberg said she wants to share her story to promote awareness of the condition, especially because September is brain aneurysm awareness month.

“You don’t hear of this stuff very often, but I want people to be aware it does happen and can happen to anyone,” Halberg said.

Halberg said she’s been lucky to have recovered well. However, she now suffers from seizures, nerve pain and frequent headaches as a result of the aneurysm.

Doctors don’t know what caused Halberg’s aneurysm. They suggested a hereditary link, but with no known history of it in her family, it was determined to be a fluke.

Halberg said doctors recently found another aneurysm in her brain and it’s being monitored. Because it hasn’t ruptured and is smaller, doctors aren’t concerned right now. She routinely goes for brain scans to make sure it doesn’t grow, and if it does, they’ll do surgery.

She and her dog advertised for Mercy Hospital to help raise awareness of the rare condition. Halberg said she wants people to be aware of what she called a “silent killer,” because she didn’t have any symptoms leading up to the rupture.

“It definitely made me realize how fast things can happen and you shouldn’t take anything for granted.” Halberg said.

Signs and symptoms of a brain aneurysm include: a very intense, localized headache, dilated pupils, loss of consciousness, confusion and vomiting.

“Every second counts when it comes to a brain injury,” Halberg said.

For more information, go to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation website at https://www.bafound.org/.