JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Omar Gutierrez always thought he was healthy. That was until twelve years ago when his 11-year-old daughter woke up with a headache and was rushed to the hospital because of how painful it was.
Nine days later, they found out she died of a brain aneurysm that had burst. "It totally caught us off guard," said Gutierrez who also got checked for a brain aneurysm and found he had one that was seven millimeters.
That size is typically the size that they need to be for doctors to consider removing them.
Luckily for Gutierrez, he was proactive and checked himself into the Mayo clinic and was later able to schedule a surgery to remove the aneurysm.
They inserted coils in his brain by going through his femoral artery instead of going directly to his brain.
According to nih.gov, there are no proven statistics, but it is estimated that three to five percent of Americans may have an aneurysm in their lifetime.
Gutierrez believes his daughter was his guardian angel. He believes that had it not been for his daughter, he would not be alive today.
He was 39 when he found out about his brain aneurysm and he is 52 now.