Aneurysms and the Red Emerys

The first time the family became aware of an aneurysm problem was the sudden death of Uncle Joe in 1965. Aneurysm would become a significant medical issue for our family but at that time it was a surprise.

His death was in May. I remember it very well. I was in eight grade and the day of his funeral was the day of the annual school picnic at Willow Grove Amusement Park. I was sad and disappointed to miss that fun day but was shocked at the death of our uncle and what it meant for our cousins.

Uncle Joe had seven children. We always referred to this group of cousins as the Red Emerys because they all had red hair. The oldest, Peter, was my age. We were close at the time. Later I heard that Uncle Joe lived for a day or so in the hospital as the doctors tried to treat his ruptured aneurysm. He was able to speak a little bit and had told Peter he would be the man of the house. That brief conversation affected Peter very much as his father lay there dying.

Over the next several years many of those seven children struggled with their lives. Aunt Joan tried hard with those kids.

Many years later my cousin Madeline would also die suddenly of a ruptured aneurysm while Christmas shopping with her daughter. The sad thing was she was a nurse but had never been tested for aneurysms like so many of her cousins. For some reason they all refused to be tested. Fortunately Madeline's daughter Maureen has been tested. We've been in contact several times and she has kept me updated on her scans. She also fully intends to have her children scanned when they are older. She knows better because she saw her mother collapse from her ruptured aneurysm.

There are 34 Emery cousins and probably only half have been scanned for aneurysms. In my family we all have been tested and scanned numerous times of the six siblings four tested positive.

Our cousin Joanie, another one of Uncle Joe's kids, died a few years ago. She had lots of problems with drugs and she had a stroke. As far as I know it was not determined for sure if she had an aneurysm but it was suspected as at least a contributing factor.