Katelyn’s Story

Site created on August 22, 2021

On August 4th, 2021, Katelyn went to the Emergency Room due to balance and vision issues. While there, an MRI was done showing a lesion on her brain. She was sent via ambulance to the University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC) where she was admitted to the ICU. As Katelyn is pregnant (22 weeks at the time of her admission), the team began monitoring her and baby C. It was found that she'd had a stroke and she continued to receive care in the ICU. Her condition was progressing and she moved from the ICU to a step down unit for continued monitoring and care.

On August 17th, her care team had concerns about continued swelling in her brain and determined that surgery was needed. 

On August 18th, 2 weeks after she had arrived at the hospital, Katelyn had brain surgery lasting 8+ hours. She had an amazing team, including a maternal-fetal team to monitor Baby C, and her surgery went extremely well. During the surgery they placed an external ventricular drain to treat hydrocephalus and relieve elevated intracranial pressure. They also successfully removed the cavernous malformation which was sent to Pathology.

To date, Katelyn is focusing on recovery & will be updating this site as time & updates allow.

Newest Update

August 18, 2022

Journal entry by Katelyn Christian —

Woke up feeling extra grateful today....a year ago today I was facing a craniotomy, with no expectations & truly no real idea how I'd come out of it mentally, physically nor emotionally....

Life has a crazy way of showing us how strong we can be without even knowing it.  I spent this day last year with my eyes closed leading up to & obviously during surgery, feeling slightly defeated yet knowing I had so much to live for. I remember my husband, sister, dad, mom, & brother’s all got their chance to see me & baby before we were wheeled in....I don't think I said much to any one of them 😩 

Fortunately, for me, the procedure felt like 2 minutes (one minute probably around 9a I was being told to take some deep breaths, the next I was being woken up around 8:30p. Unfortunately, for the rest of my family-they spent hours at a time on pins & needles waiting to hear updates. 

Fast forward to today, my “honorary birthday” 😉….I couldn’t be more thankful for the life I was -given back- this past year & all the years to come. We are counting….& then recounting all of our blessings & spending the day as a family of 4! 

Much love to you & yours!!
Read More of the journal titled "August 18, 2022"
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