Cynthia Martinez suffered a brain aneurysm rupture at the age of 34 and subsequently a stroke. Through her recovery process she has been dedicated to spreading awareness of both aneurysms and strokes by sharing her experience. You can also follow her on instagram at @cynthiavm5 to learn more and tune into her #TuesdayTalks Live on Instagram.
Here is her story:
My name is Cynthia Martinez I’m a single mom who at 34 years old went to my friends house for a fun game night with my 5 year old son, and after just a couple of minutes of being there, all of a sudden fainted with no warning, once the paramedics quickly arrived I was rushed to the hospital where they discovered that I had an aneurysm rupture on the right side of my brain. Although it was clipped, conditions worsened when my brain began to swell and I had a stroke on my left side. So I faced my 2nd surgery within two days, this surgery was to remove the flap in my skull to give the brain room.
Against all odds I began to recuperate and a few weeks later I faced my third surgery to put the flap back in.
After a month and 10 days of being in the hospital, I was sent to a rehabilitation facility, where I stayed for 2 weeks in order to regain strength on my left side that was left weak after my stroke. After 2 weeks I came home and continued physical and occupational therapy, while also suffering from anxiety, fear, and depression.
A month and a half after I was home I got an infection on the flap that was placed. I had to have ANOTHER surgery to remove the fluid build up. The complications haven’t stopped there…after nearly two months after getting my original bone removed, I await my next surgery to get a synthetic bone.I still have an un ruptured aneurysm, that needs to be fixed, after this bone issue is fixed.
Through this experience I am dedicated to sharing my experience with the world and committed to raising awareness to this devastating disease.
Please spread the word of the signs and symptoms and let people know about organizations such as The Bee Foundation who are raising awareness and funding preventative research. Tune into to my instagram channel (@cynthiavm5) every Tuesday.
