it's the last few minutes of 2005. what a year it has been.
it feels like the year 2005 passed by like a dream.
i wish to forget the year 2005. it's been a very unproductive year for me.
i greeted and bade farewell to the year 2005 with the departing of 2 loved ones.
i hope the coming year will be much, much better, Insya Allah.
at 1355hrs today, 27th December 2005, my aunt finally succumbed. a fighter all the way, she hung on till the very last breath. the only consolation i have now is she's no longer suffering.
exactly 9 days after she fell into a deep coma, she went without waking up.
to my aunt, Mahamudah Bee Binte Ibrahim, may your soul be blessed. we will keep the do'a going, Insya Allah.
sitting in my office all alone, suddenly i'm overwhelmed with the feeling of ultimate sadness. my tears suddenly started pouring out like the weather right now. i can't make them stop.
the image of my aunt will forever be etched in my mind...............
the following was taken from this website.
What is a brain aneurysm?
A brain (cerebral) aneurysm is a bulging, weak area in the wall of an artery that supplies blood to the brain. In most cases, a brain aneurysm causes no symptoms and goes unnoticed. In rare cases, the brain aneurysm ruptures, releasing blood into the skull and causing a stroke.
When a brain aneurysm ruptures, the result is called a subrachnoid hemorrhage. Depending on the severity of the hemorrhage, brain damage or death may result.
The most common location for brain aneurysms is in the network of blood vessels at the base of the brain called the circle of Willis.
What causes a brain aneurysm?
A person may inherit the tendency to form aneurysms, or aneurysms may develop because of hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and aging. Some risk factors that can lead to brain aneurysms can be controlled; others can't. The following risk factors may increase your risk of developing an aneurysm or, if you already have an aneurysm, of it rupturing:
Family history. People with a family history of brain aneurysms are twice as likely to have an aneurysm as those who don't.
Previous aneurysm. About 20% of patients with brain aneurysms have more than one.
Gender. Women are twice as likely to develop a brain aneurysm or suffer a subrachnoid hemorrhage as men.
Race. African-Americans have twice as many subarachnoid hemorrhages as whites.
Hypertension. The risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage is greater in people with a history of high blood pressure (hypertension).
Smoking. In addition to being a cause of hypertension, the use of cigarettes may greatly increase the chances of a brain aneurysm rupturing.
What are the symptoms?
Most brain aneurysms cause no symptoms and may only be discovered during tests for another, usually unrelated, condition. In other cases, an unruptured aneurysm will cause problems by pressing on areas within the brain. When this happens, the person may suffer from severe headaches, blurred vision, changes in speech, and neck pain, depending on the areas of the brain that are affected and the severity of the aneurysm. If you have any of the following symptoms or notice them in someone you know, see a health professional immediately.
Symptoms of a ruptured brain aneurysm often come on suddenly. They may include:
Sudden, severe headache (sometimes described as a "thunderclap" headache that is very different from any normal headache).
Neck pain.
Nausea and vomiting.
Sensitivity to light.
Fainting or loss of consciousness.
Seizures.
How is a brain aneurysm diagnosed?
Because unruptured brain aneurysms often do not cause any symptoms, many are discovered in people who are being treated for a different condition.
If your health professional believes you have a brain aneurysm, you may have the following tests:
Computed tomography angiogram (CTA) scan. CTA is a more precise method of evaluating blood vessels than a standard CT scan. CTA uses a combination of CT scanning, special computer techniques, and contrast material (dye) injected into the blood to produce images of blood vessels.
Magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA). Similar to a CTA, MRA uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to provide pictures of blood vessels inside the body. As with CTA and cerebral angiogram, a dye is often used during MRA to make blood vessels show up more clearly.
Cerebral angiogram. During this X-ray test, a catheter is inserted through a blood vessel in the groin or arm and moved up through the vessel into the brain. A dye is then injected into the cerebral artery. As with the above tests, the dye allows any problems in the artery, including aneurysms, to be seen on the X-ray. Although this test is more invasive and carries more risk than the above tests, it is the best way to locate small (less than 5 mm) brain aneurysms.
A CT scan, which can help identify bleeding in the brain, combined with a lumbar puncture, may be used if your health professional suspects that you have a ruptured cerebral aneurysm with a subarachnoid hemorrhage.
How is it treated?
Your doctor will consider several factors before deciding the best treatment for you. Factors that will determine the type of treatment you receive include your age, size of the aneurysm, any additional risk factors, and your overall health.
Because the risk of a small (less than 10 mm) aneurysm rupturing is low and surgery for a brain aneurysm is often risky, your health professional may want to continue to observe your condition rather than perform surgery. However, if your aneurysm is large or causing pain or other symptoms, or if you have had a previous ruptured aneurysm, your health professional may recommend surgery.
The following surgeries are used to treat both ruptured and unruptured brain aneurysms:
Coil embolization. During this surgery, a small tube is inserted into the affected artery and positioned near the aneurysm. Tiny metal coils are then moved through the tube into the aneurysm, relieving pressure on the aneurysm and making it less likely to rupture. This procedure is less invasive and is believed to be safer than surgical clipping, although it may not be as effective at reducing the risk of a later rupture. It should be done in a large hospital where many such procedures are performed.
Surgical clipping. This surgery involves placing a small metal clip around the base of the aneurysm to isolate it from normal blood circulation. This decreases the pressure on the aneurysm and prevents it from rupturing. Whether this surgery can be done depends on the location of the aneurysm, its size, and your general health.
Some aneurysms bulge in such a way that the aneurysm has to be cut out and the ends of the blood vessel stitched together, but this is very rare. Occasionally the artery is not long enough to stitch together, and a piece of another artery has to be used.
Aneurysms that have bled are very serious and in many cases lead to death or disability. Management includes hospitalization and intensive care to relieve pressure in the brain and maintain breathing and vital functions, such as blood pressure, and treatment to prevent rebleeding.
one of the factors that may cause the rupture is high blood pressure. my aunt was discovered to be having higher than normal blood pressure when she was taken to the hospital.
the sister and me were considering having a thorough check-up for any abnormal blood vessels since this has happened to 2 women in our family.
despite my love for the ultra-high sodium preserved plums, my blood pressure is found to be on the low side of the normal range. any lower i'll be having low blood pressure.
anyway, my aunt is now in a deep coma. the swelling of her brain has not subsided yet. she's also having high fever yesterday. we are all praying for her to get stable enough to be transferred to TTSH. CGH doesn't have the proper neuro facilities.
right now, my youngest maternal aunt is in a critical condition in the hospital. she collapsed at home without any warning in the early evening.
a blood vessel in her brain burst. this is history repeating itself. my maternal grandmother passed away with the exact conditon.
even with the advanced technology now, doctors are not able to do much right how. her brain has swelled too much to do anything at the moment.
the brother suffered from a similar condition, but his was brought by a massive head trauma.
all of us are hoping for a miracle to happen. i promise i won't make fun of these anymore:
(it's a family joke).
i won't mind many more of those cookies in the future.
the brother (immediately after the return here, was hospitalised overnight)
what the head looked like:
how he is now
what happened to my mobile phone:
belated birthday present to myself:
came with these:
present from her:
lunch date with the gang today. one of the rare times all of us are available at the same time:
Nora, Mar & Sharm
Mai, Me & Suzie
mine & Suzie's starter
Mai's & Sharm's dish
Nora's & Mar's dish
my dish
Suzie's dish
note : pictures resized.
what the ..??!! both yahoo & hotmail can't be accessed. sheesh.
today, or yesterday rather, got myself 2 belated birthday gifts. first is from her. thank you so much dear.
the another one is from yours truly (",). got my own gift since i know myself best on what i want/need.
anyway, got an sms from someone. the last person in mind to send me these kind of messages. the message goes like this : "Here's d lamest pick-up line from me to you : when god took my rib to turn it into a woman, it turns to U! So, can i hv my rib back."
can somebody please tell me what to make of this? i'm too stumped to even give a reply. hahah...
i'll put up the pics of the gifts when i can access my e-mail. digital camera's batteries are flat so i had to snap the pics with the mobile's camera and MMS to my e-mail.
ok, i'm giving up waiting to access my e-mail. next few days will be busy, busy, busy.
i'm done being nice. what's the point of being nice when it all goes unappreciated.
i won't be those who do the bad stuff on purpose. i'll just stop being nice to everyone. it's everyone for themselves anyway in this world.
seems like all the nice things i do goes unnoticed, but whenever i do something not so nice, everbody's eyes are focused on that only.
this is truly a test of my faith and patience and it's running thin now.
i give up!!
took leave on friday only to spend the afternoon in pain till i fell asleep on the sofa in the afternoon. the monthly good friend made it's appearance just when i was enjoying the day off.
at night, for the first time (this year is the year of many first time for me), went to watch a hindi movie at Bedok Cinema. for a major hindi movie buff, that movie was a WASTE OF MONEY. it was paid for by sis dearest and what a waste man. the movie was less than 2 hrs!! normal hindi movie is at least 4 hours long. Mohabbatein is almost 4 hrs long (just watched it btw. some scenes got snipped. go watch the full one).
anyway, got home almost 3am after going for supper and watched another hindi movie to satisfy the disappointment of being duped watching a 'hollywoodised' bollywood movie. watched veer zaara with sis dearest. finally slept at 6.30am on saturday morning. heheh...
so now weekend's over. back to work tomorrow. no, later today in fact. this reminds me that i have to start writing the appraisal form. same thing every year. have to think of something to make it look 'nice' (",)
haven't got the time to update properly lately. busy with i don't know what.
got some not very good news last week. not a good birthday present for me this year. but it's still better than previous years though. have to be thankful for that at least.
i've got loads of pictures to upload. you'll see them when you see them (",)
