A TEENAGE boy collapsed on his living room floor and died after complaining of a headache.
Makhi Jackson, 16, made himself a snack of New Year’s Eve then passed out a short time later.
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He was rushed to A&E but doctors couldn’t save him.
They fear he suffered a brain aneurysm – a bulge in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the blood vessel wall.
“This has shaken my family and kids to our very core,” his mum Matika said on a GoFundMe page.
“I never thought I would have to bury my son, especially not so young.
“I am lost. I’m trying to remain positive but this is hard.”
Makhi, from Atlanta, Georgia, US, was at home on December 31, 2023, when he cooked something to eat.
He told his mum he had a headache, but it was otherwise “just a normal day”.
Minutes later, Matika heard a bang and discovered her son had fallen into the glass table in their living room.
“He just collapsed,” she told 11Alive.
“He was bleeding from the mouth, and he was making this sound that I will never get out of my mind. It was almost like growling.”
Matika called 911 and immediately started CPR before he was taken to A&E by ambulance.
Sadly, he was pronounced dead a short time later.
His official death has not been confirmed, but medics suspect it was a brain aneurysm.
The keen drummer, who was “healthy and active”, has been remembered as a “smart and happy kid”.
It’s difficult to estimate exactly how much people are affected by brain aneurysms as they usually cause no symptoms and pass undetected unless they rupture, or burst.
Some experts believe it could be as high as one in 20 people, while others think the figure stands at around one in 100.
Rupturing leads to an extremely dangerous condition known as a subarachnoid haemorrhage, according to the NHS.
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This is where bleeding causes extensive brain damage and symptoms such as a headache, stiff neck, sickness and vomiting, and pain when looking at light.
A ruptured brain aneurysm is a medical emergency.
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What is a brain aneurysm?
A BRAIN aneurysm is a bulge in a blood vessel caused by weakness in the blood vessel wall, usually where in branches.
As blood passes through the weakened blood vessel, the blood pressure causes a small area to grow outwards like a balloon.
Most brain aneurysms only cause noticeable symptoms if they burst, also known as rupturing.
This leads to an extremely serious condition known as a subarachnoid haemorrhage, where bleeding can cause extensive brain damage and symptoms.
The most common symptoms of a ruptured brain aneurysm include:
- A sudden agonising headache (described by some as a ‘thunderclap’, similar to being hit on the head resulting in blinding pain)
- A stiff neck
- Sickness and vomiting
- Sensitivity to light
- Blurred or double vision
- Sudden confusion
- Loss of consciousness
- Seizures
- Weakness on one side of the body or in any limbs
A brain aneurysm that has burst is a medical emergency and you must call 999 immediately.
Doctors aren’t sure exactly what causes them, but they are more likely in people who are over the age of 40, who smoke, have high blood pressure or a family history of aneurysms.
Experts believe as many as one in 20 people are affected by brain aneurysms, but only one in 15,000 experience a rupture each year.
Between 25 and 40 per cent of those affected die within 24 hours, it is estimated.
Source: NHS and the London Clinic