Seven aneurysms later, Lori is still on the move

Most people think of inheriting things in a good way, but for Lori Herring, that wasn’t entirely the case. She inherited a tendency to suffer from brain aneurysms (blood clots that can be fatal). Her grandfather died from one, her father had one burst, and her niece had three. When her general practitioner learned of her family history, she recommended Lori have an MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram), a scan that looks at blood vessels in the body. It revealed that Lori had seven cranial aneurysms.

Her GP immediately referred Lori to Dr. Daniel Hoit at Semmes Murphey Clinic. Lori underwent the first of four procedures to treat her condition. In the first two surgeries, Dr. Hoit entered through blood vessels to address the aneurysms. The final two were cranial surgeries, with the last one complete in October 2020.

“When you go through something like this, it’s scary because it’s your brain. I mean, your brain runs the whole show. It is helpful to have a team you have high confidence in, and they are the best!” Lori says.

She bounced back quickly from the first two surgeries, only missing a week or so from her job as Sales & Operations Manager in the global cellulose division of International Paper. Her cranial surgery recovery took longer, between four and six weeks.

For now, all seven aneurysms have been treated and Lori will return and see Dr. Hoit for monitoring, but her prognosis is good.

“Not only are there dangers with aneurysms, but there are also even risks inherent in the treatment,” says Lori. “Dr. Hoit is very personable, caring, and does a very good job of explaining things in layman’s terms. He never rushes you if you have questions, and he listened to the silliest of questions from me! I had just turned 60 and thought they had to shave my head for the craniotomy. I was afraid my hair wouldn’t grow back! Dr. Hoit assured me that he would only shave a small spot. You can look at pictures of me a week post-surgery and not even tell where they shaved!”

Lori is happy to be back at work. She loves traveling, and a few years ago accepted a 3.5 year assignment for IP in Italy. She’s anxious to return when COVID travel restrictions are lifted. She enjoys wine tastings, animals, cooking and entertainment such as the live concert series at the Memphis Botanic Gardens.