A year and a half ago I went in for some pain for my hernia as it was getting worse. They gave me a CT scan and the Dr. Was freaking out. Said I needed to go to the downtown main hospital now. It wasn't my hernia, it was aortic and iliac aneurysms. I have three.
- Bilateral common iliac artery aneurysms and dissections - R CIA 2.6cm aneurysm with dissection extending into the proximal right IIA and EIA. L CIA dissecting pseudo-aneurysm of 2.7 cm (genetics negative - no pathogenic variants or VUS, CTA head, neck, chest in 2025 were negative)
- Celiac artery aneurysm 1.4cm
So naturally it really scared me. I went from the local er to the main er. They had me pretty much drugged up and ready for surgery. But then they looked at images more closely and said they aren't big enough for stunts just yet. Now I get annual ultrasounds, see a rheumatologist and a cardiologist a couple times a year. Good news is last November they did not get bigger. Of course it still stresses me out knowing I have these issues. I also have vasculitis. Then a few weeks ago I had to Go to the ER again. Due to chest pain. They took one look at me and admitted me right there. I must've looked pale as heck. After a half hour I started sweating bullets and felt very nauseous. That's when I started fainting and couldn't move. I remember bits and pieces. I remember my wife telling me to grab her finger if I could. I could barely hear her but couldn't see or move. Apparently my heart rate dropped to 40. I can only imagine how scared my wife was. Then I remember a bunch of people wheeling me to the CT. My body kept spasms and i kept saying oww. They lifted me in the ct and i barely remember it. Turns out i had syncope and double pneumonia. I was in the hospital for a day and a half. What an ordeal. That was almost a month ago. I feel better now but also my tinnitus is now worse. Louder ringing. Im so grateful for my wife. Also feel bad for her because this is the second scary overnight hospitsl stay in a little over a year. I had the genetic testing and it came back negative so my kids wont have to worry. This whole experience has scared me and also made me realize how important my family is to me. Just wanted to introduce myself and thank you for the support