WILLPOWER MELTDOWN SOMETIMES

A man in his early thirties passed away from a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Three weeks ago, he presented to the hospital with a severe headache. A head CT revealed such a typical subarachnoid hemorrhage that neurosurgeons suspected there should be a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. An emergent angiography, however, showed no aneurysm. He developed hydrocephalus and underwent lumbar drainage. He had headache and mild cognitive impairment, but he could eat and walk.

Ten days after the initial onset, he developed another subarachnoid hemorrhage. This time an angiography showed very small aneurysm in the superior cerebellar artery. He underwent coil embolization therapy, but he didn’t recover. A postoperative CT showed severe ischemic changes in his brain. He had lived for a week with ventilation and vasopressin infusion. These days were necessary to accept his death. For whom? His family or us?