Collapse like a thunderclap led to a lifestyle change for Simone

A local woman who survived a ruptured brain aneurysm described how she felt it coming as a “thunderclap”, collapsed and couldn’t move until the ambulance arrived.

Simone Jones is a psychologist from Templeogue, living in Tallaght since 2002.

She was working out in the Westpark gym when she had the rupture and risked death, in December 2018. Before she collapsed, she was feeling “uncoordinated, drowsy, and pain on one side of my head.” While waiting on the ambulance, people asked her to unlock her phone to call family members. “I couldn’t remember how to do it or put sentences together,” she explained.

A brain aneurysm is a bulge which can form in blood vessels’ weak areas in or around the brain. If ruptured, it can be life-threatening as blood is released around the brain.

After being taken to Tallaght hospital, Simone was transferred to Beaumont where she got the procedure to repair the rupture.

But it was after being discharged that she really had to deal with what happened to her. “I experienced insomnia or irregular sleep time, headaches, the right side of my body was weaker, and I had issues with planning and carrying out simple tasks.”

She recalled, for example, needing assistance while making a coffee and having to take breaks between showering, drying off and getting dressed as she experienced fatigue after every small step.

While she received huge support from family and friends, Simone said it’s hard to feel understood from people who haven’t experienced it and that somehow, she felt “isolated.”

She then reached out to charities supporting people affected by brain injury.

Headway Ireland helped her with finding support groups, hearing stories and recovery journeys from other people going through the same thing.

Among the services provided by the charity, ‘compassion-focused therapy’ is what brought a positive and effective change into Simone’s recovery and life. “Besides the physical rupture, you also have to repair the relationship with yourself. Stress and anxiety were part of the run-up to the rupture and with compassion-focused therapy you can learn to slow down and be kind to yourself.”

“Before the rupture I would be one of those people juggling between extra hours at work, going to the gym, taking part in projects. My nervous system wasn’t getting enough rest.”

As she rebuilt a calmer routine for herself, Simone also managed to achieve new goals.

Last June, she published The Rupture Repair, a book written during her recovery between 2019 and 2022. Structured as an actual story, and not like just a diary, she said it’s been a “cathartic” way to share her experience and acknowledge anyone who supported her along the way.

It was published on June 27, 2024, but Simone will launch it in September as it is Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month. At the event, she will raise donations for Headway Ireland through a raffle.

In 2023, she also completed training to become a yoga teacher. A professional psychologist whose knowledge was precious during recovery, Simone now appreciates yoga and other meditation techniques to have a more mindful approach to daily life.

According to Brain Aneurysm Foundation data, ruptured brain aneurysm is fatal in 50pc of cases. While Simone said she’s “not really one for standing and giving talks,” through the event and her book she wants to remind everyone the importance of “looking after your own health and tune in to your body. If you don’t value your peace and wellbeing, at some point it will show.”

Her book launch and fundraiser will take place at the new La Hoya café in Westpark Fitness, Tallaght, on Saturday, September 28, from 4pm to 6pm. Coffee and pastries will be available, and of course the raffle prizes.

Among the prizes, a pamper hamper, a guitar lesson and tarot card reading. To learn more about the cause, buy tickets and donate, you can visit HERE.