Kathy Alstead

As some know, on Tuesday the 24th our mom Kathy was air lifted to CentraCare in St. Cloud with a brain bleed from an aneurysm. 


That morning she woke up around 730a and had a sudden onset headache she described as the worst she has ever had in her life. For those of you who know her, that is saying a lot as she has had intense migraines for most of her life. She became nauseous/ill, but had no recollection of memory from that time until around 230p that afternoon. At that time she was able to call her daughter in law Kathy Christianson. Fortunately, thank you Apple Watches, even though she was meeting with a patient at her work she saw back to back calls and was able to go answer her phone. Her daughter in law called her husband, Kathy's son Austin, who rushed to the house to check on her. At this time they were unsure if she was having a terrible migraine with a panic attack or what was going on, so he brought her to the emergency room in Alexandria to be assessed. After further assessment they determined she had a brain aneurysm bleeding and the situation was worsening. She was life flighted to St. Cloud.

They performed surgery on her that evening and the neurosurgeon was able to successfully coil the aneurysm. Upon assessment, they also found other complications that will need to be addressed at a later time. A drainage tube was put in her skull, which will likely remain in place for another 5-7 days from today as they continue to assess fluid build up/bleeding.

Over the past couple of days she has been becoming more alert and is able to answer questions accurately and seems to understand what is happening. She has been able to follow through with commands of moving various body parts, and was able to sit up on her bedside this afternoon with therapy. She is a force to be reckoned with, that is for sure!

As of right now, mom will be monitored closely over the next couple of weeks before determining the next steps. We are incredibly lucky that she was able to come to that afternoon and reach out for help, as if she had not been able to do that the result would have been fatal.

We will try to keep people up to date as able.