Positivity: Aneurysm survivor celebrates the miracle of being alive
October 2, 2008
In a split second, Patricia Jackson was as good as dead.
“I saw her eyes roll back in her head and she went limp,” said Don Jackson, her husband. “I just knew she was gone.”
The Buckner Farms couple had been to a picnic on the Outer Banks and was just leaving when Patricia complained of a bad headache. Within minutes she was unconscious and her husband had started CPR while trying to dial 911.
“It didn’t seem real,” he said. “It felt like I was in some kind of bad dream.”
The ambulance arrived to take Patricia to Albemarle Hospital. Paramedics were still doing CPR as they rushed her inside the hospital.
She was placed on life support, and the doctor said there was nothing else they could do.
Nightingale Air Ambulance would transport Patricia to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
“I couldn’t fly with her,” Don said. “I had to make that long drive back, thinking about what my life might be like without her here.”
Patricia, 61, had suffered an aneurysm and needed immediate surgery. She was in the hospital for 10 days.
“I sometimes get frustrated with my recovery,” Patricia said about dealing with side effects a year later. “But my doctor said, ‘You have to remember, you were dead.’ My body just needs time to heal.”
Today, she has a metal plate in her head and suffers with some short-term memory loss, but other than that, she is healthy.
“It’s a miracle that I am alive,” she said. “I thank God every day for all the people who came together to save my life.”
In honor of the anniversary on Sept. 22 of her trauma, Patricia visited staff from Norfolk General and presented them with a gift. She also engraved a plaque and gave it to the staff of the Nightingale. …..
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