A Survivor’s Story

When Ashley Eva turned 40 on March 8, surrounded by family and balloons, she was all smiles. But just three months later she started experiencing a painful headache. Prone to migraines in the past, she assumed this was another bad migraine. But as it worsened, she knew something was wrong. Since she lived alone, she called her mom to take her to the hospital.

Her mom arrived to find her sitting on the front porch in severe pain and vomiting, and she rushed her to UC Health who quickly diagnosed a ruptured aneurysm. They performed surgery to clamp the bleed that day, but then found she had another aneurysm that needed treatment, so performed a coil procedure on both aneurysms two days later.

“None of us knew anything about this stuff, and we weren’t certain she was going to wake up or be herself if she woke up. We had no idea what the future held for her,” said Ashley’s sister Courtnay. “COVID restrictions made it so much worse because my mother was the only person allowed in the hospital with her so any little bit of information we got was second and third hand. It was the darkest time I ever remember experiencing in my life.”

Ashley remained in intensive care at UC Health for 31 days before transferring to Kindred Hospital, a long-term acute care hospital, where she spent another 11 days. At Kindred, her trach was removed, and she began her rehab process, before going home to spend a week recuperating with her family until she was able to return home and live independently again.

Although Ashley has made a remarkable recovery, the incident has been challenging. She was off from work completely for two months. “The JBFF gift cards for expenses that UC Health presented us were the first glimmer of hope we received. We still had no idea what lie ahead for us, but this act of generosity during a very dark time reassured us that good was still out there.”

Her family is happy to report that Ashley is recovering very well. “While she struggles with lingering issues like emotional stability, searching for words, and unfamiliar handwriting, we feel she is really very lucky,” shares her sister Courtnay. The Jamie Beck Family Foundation is proud to support survivors like Ashley.