Living in the fast-paced city of New York, Julie Brothers was no stranger to daily challenges—whether navigating crowded subways or working long hours in TV production. But nothing could have prepared her for the life-or-death battle she faced last year. At just 37 years old, Julie suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm, a silent condition that nearly cost her life. What made her case even more dangerous was an initial misdiagnosis that delayed critical treatment for more than 36 hours.
On the night of April 23, 2024, Julie was finishing up work when she was suddenly struck by an excruciating pain at the back of her head. Describing it as sudden and intense, she likened it to “being shot in the head.” Along with the headache came nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, and a stiff neck. Despite these alarming symptoms, Julie brushed off the possibility of anything serious, even questioning her own instincts. When she visited a local walk-in clinic the next day, doctors agreed she was likely experiencing a migraine and prescribed painkillers without ordering any scans.
Unfortunately, this kind of misdiagnosis is not uncommon. According to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, nearly 25% of aneurysms are initially missed because doctors fail to perform the necessary brain imaging. Brain aneurysms are weakened, bulging areas in brain arteries that, if ruptured, cause bleeding between the brain and skull—a dangerous type of stroke called a subarachnoid hemorrhage. About 6.8 million Americans have unruptured aneurysms, with 30,000 ruptures occurring each year. Half of those affected die within three months, and many survivors suffer permanent brain damage.
After worsening symptoms and increasing pain, Julie returned to the hospital, where doctors performed a brain scan that revealed a ruptured aneurysm leaking blood near the base of her skull. She was rushed into emergency surgery where a neurosurgeon used a minimally invasive procedure called endovascular embolization to stop the bleeding. A soft coil was threaded through an artery in her thigh up to her brain to seal off the aneurysm. The procedure was successful, but her road to recovery was just beginning.
Julie’s recovery was slow but determined. Within days of surgery, she began physical therapy and started regaining strength, although she continued to struggle with light sensitivity, brain fog, and fatigue. What was initially expected to be a short hospital stay stretched into three weeks, and it took three months before she was able to return to work full-time. More than a year later, she lives independently and stays active, but her experience changed her outlook on life. “Life is for the living,” she says. “It’s not for the constant grind.”
Medical experts emphasize the importance of paying attention to sudden, severe headaches—sometimes called “thunderclap headaches”—which can be a warning sign of a ruptured aneurysm. Risk factors include being female, high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, and family history, but aneurysms can also occur spontaneously in healthy individuals. Julie’s story highlights the crucial need to trust your body and push for thorough medical evaluation if symptoms persist or worsen. Early diagnosis and treatment are vital to preventing deadly outcomes and improving recovery chances.
