For fifteen years, Rosanne lived with a silent diagnosis which was discovered unexpectedly and monitored from the sidelines of her life. What began as routine surveillance slowly became a growing weight of uncertainty, shaped by quiet fear and constant “what ifs.” In this powerful and deeply personal story, she shares how she moved from years of watchful waiting to taking control of her health, navigating complex medical challenges, and ultimately finding something she had been missing all along: peace.

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In 2010, I was told something that would quietly follow me for the next fifteen years of my life — I had two brain aneurysms.

They were found incidentally, and at the time, the plan was simple: watch them. So that’s what I did. Year after year, I went for my annual MRA, learning to live with something I couldn’t see or feel, but always knew was there. It became part of my life — something I carried silently in the background.

But over time, that quiet awareness turned into something heavier. The “what if” started to grow louder. Last year, I reached a point where I realized I didn’t want to keep living with that uncertainty anymore. I wanted answers, and I wanted peace of mind. That decision led me to NYU Langone, where I finally felt ready to move forward with treatment.

My journey wasn’t straightforward. I also live with a rare bone marrow failure syndrome caused by a MECOM gene mutation, which affects my blood counts and healing. Every decision carried more weight, more risk, and more questions. But it also made me even more determined to take control of my health.

In May 2025, I had my first procedure — a coil embolization to treat a deep aneurysm in the right M2 branch of my brain. I remember the fear leading up to it, but I also remember waking up, realizing it was over, and feeling an overwhelming sense of relief. I was walking the next day and home shortly after.

In November 2025, I returned for my second procedure — a flow-diversion stent to treat my para-ophthalmic carotid aneurysm. This one was more complex, but again, everything went smoothly. Within days, I was back home, recovering, and beginning to realize something had changed inside me.

For the first time in over fifteen years… the weight was gone.

Both procedures were successful. No complications. Just gratitude.

Looking back, I realize that the fear I carried for so many years was far greater than the reality I eventually faced. Medicine has come so far, and these treatments gave me something I didn’t even realize I had been missing — peace.

I’m sharing my story for anyone who is living in that waiting period — the years of monitoring, the quiet worry, the constant “what if.” You are not alone, and there is hope.

Today, I am healing, grateful, and finally free from the uncertainty I carried for so long.

Thank you for the work you do to support patients, advance research, and bring awareness to a condition that is so often silent. 

After 15 years of living with the unknown, I finally found Peace on the other side of Fear.