Persistence is how Hope discovered her eye pain was something much more serious, a stroke. She feels fortunate that she was sent to Dr. Ziad Darkhabani, Interventional neurologist at
Already blind in her left eye, Hope became extremely concerned when her right eye started hurting. The pain was so terrible; she said it was “like someone was stepping on my eye.”
A visit to her eye doctor revealed nothing out of the ordinary. So, Hope went to see her internist, but medication did nothing to relieve the pain. Hope went back to the eye doctor, and then back to her internist.
“If I could see out of my left eye, maybe I wouldn’t have been so insistent,” Hope recalls. “But I didn’t want to go blind.”
On her second visit, the internist ordered a CAT scan and an MRI. That’s when it became clear that Hope had an aneurysm.
She was referred to Dr. Darkhabani and together, with her family’s input, they decided on a plan of careful monitoring. However, a few weeks later, when Hope went back for follow-up scans, the news was not good. Dr. Darkhabani called before she even got home. The message: come back immediately.
Hope was having what’s known as a “hemorrhagic stroke,” a condition in which an aneurysm bursts or starts to leak, spilling blood into the brain. Because every second matters, immediate treatment was needed to preserve her brain cells and to ensure she could live a life without complications.
Within hours, Hope was in surgery. Dr. Darkhabani performed an endovascular procedure, inserting a catheter through a vessel in her leg, then threading it up into the brain. Once there, he used a special stent device to divert blood away from the aneurysm. The aneurysm was completely closed off and any further bleeding was stopped.
She was only in the hospital a day or two and didn’t need any rehab. She has made a full recovery, Hope has no more pain and has regained full use of her right eye. Most importantly, she has no brain damage from the hemorrhage.
Dr. Darkhabani shares that “Hope is a very sweet and pleasant lady, staff enjoyed taking care of her during her hospital stay. I could not be happier with her recovery.”
“I do believe he saved my life,” Hope says. “I feel very fortunate that he was here in Green Bay to take care of me.”
Aurora BayCare is the first and only Comprehensive Stroke Center in Northeast Wisconsin, offering advanced stroke care, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We’re ready at all times, with the region’s largest neurointervention team and a dedicated unit for stroke patients. Learn more about our leading treatment for aneurysms and strokes.