Caroline McCaffrey usually ran in the morning, but on Father's Day 2025, she was feeling tired and decided to exercise in the evening instead.
asserted
she → run → evening
She invited her mother Kim to bike alongside her.
asserted
She → invite → her
Just a few minutes into the run, Caroline, then 18, was struck by a "really bad headache."
asserted
Caroline → strike → headache
She had experienced and received treatment for migraines before, but this was a new sensation.
asserted
this → experience → migraines
"It felt like I got punched in the face," Caroline said.
asserted
Caroline → feel → face
Within minutes, she was vomiting.
asserted
she → vomit → minutes
She couldn't walk, so Kim called her husband to come pick them up.
asserted
Kim → walk → them
When the symptoms didn't immediately recede, Kim started to panic.
asserted
Kim → recede → ?
"I literally Googled, as she was throwing up, the signs of (ruptured) brain aneurysms.
asserted
she → google → aneurysms
My husband was like, 'Do you think this is what it is?'
asserted
it → think → ?
And I was like, 'I don't know.
asserted
I → know → ?
This isn't normal,'" Kim recalled.
asserted
Kim → recall → ?
At an area hospital, Kim quickly raised her concerns, but Caroline's physician was skeptical.
asserted
physician → raise → concerns
"I was like, 'I'm pretty sure she's having a brain aneurysm or a ruptured brain aneurysm,' and he's like, 'I don't think we should go there yet,'" Kim recalled.
asserted
Kim → have → aneurysm
Caroline was given another dose of migraine medication, but it had no effect.
asserted
it → give → effect
A few hours later, a second doctor ordered a CT scan.
asserted
doctor → order → scan
That test found bleeding in Caroline's brain.
asserted
test → find → brain
Caroline said she was relieved to be on the path to treatment.
asserted
Caroline → say → treatment
"I think I was in so much pain that I couldn't really even be scared at that point," Caroline said.
asserted
Caroline → think → point
Treating a deadly diagnosis
Caroline was transferred to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
asserted
Caroline → treat → Center
The next day, she woke up in the intensive care unit with a bald spot.
asserted
she → wake → spot
Her parents filled her in: Tests had shown two brain aneurysms.
asserted
Tests → fill → aneurysms
One had ruptured and caused an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, which led to her symptoms, said neurointerventionist Dr. Gunjan Parikh.
asserted
Parikh → rupture → symptoms
The condition typically affects people in their mid-50s.
asserted
condition → affect → mid-50s
It's a dangerous diagnosis, Parikh said: About 1 in 4 patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhages die before making it to the hospital.
asserted
patients → say → hospital
Another 13% of patients die at the hospital.
asserted
% → die → hospital
But Caroline had been lucky: Neurosurgeon Dr. Jacob Cherian had treated the ruptured aneurysm and repaired the damaged brain tissue.
asserted
Cherian → treat → tissue
Despite the delays in care, she had been treated "really quickly," Kim said.
asserted
Kim → treat → care
Caroline said she was "really shocked" by the news.
asserted
she → say → news
It took her a few days to "comprehend what happened."
asserted
what → take → days
"Once I did that, I was ready to get things going, get treatment going," Caroline said.
asserted
Caroline → do → that
"Once I processed it, I kind of just wanted to get things on the road."
asserted
things → process → road
The drain was still removing fluid from her brain.
asserted
drain → remove → brain
She needed regular ultrasounds and monitoring to ensure that she wasn't having any strokes or seizures, as well as occupational and physical therapy.
asserted
she → need → strokes
Then she underwent another surgery to remove the second aneurysm.
asserted
she → undergo → aneurysm
It was over three weeks before she was finally released from the hospital.
asserted
she → release → hospital
Finding a family connection
In the meantime, Caroline's parents were trying to figure out how their 18-year-old daughter could have had such a dangerous condition.
uncertain
daughter → find → condition
While poring over the family's medical history with Caroline's care team, they realized Caroline's paternal great-grandmother had an aneurysm in the 1960s.
asserted
grandmother → pore → 1960s
That suggested a genetic cause for Caroline's condition.
uncertain
That → suggest → condition
The McCaffreys were encouraged to undergo testing for other potential aneurysms.
asserted
McCaffreys → encourage → aneurysms
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
