Well... I feel very lucky to be able to post after what I have been through.

14 September: I get a blinding headache, and soon afterward become very nauseous. I ask Sarah, my wife, to take me to the emergency room. Relatively quickly, through the magic of CAT scanning and angiograms, the nice folks at Reston Hospital determine that I have a subarachnoid aneurysm, which is life threatening. I am helicoptered to Fairfax Hospital, when the brain guys there detemine that the aneurysm looks too complex for their capabilities. Things are prepared for me to go to Georgetown University Hospital, in DC, the next morning, since I am relatively stable and Geaorgtown has the most sophisticated brain science program in the area.

15 September: Brain surgery on my aneurysm, and by late afternoon everything looks pretty good. Initial fears that a long connecting vessel might also need sophisticated surgery turns out to not be an issue, and aside from a 7 inch scar across the top of my head and a whoppinh headache, things are looking pretty good.

16 September - 25 September: Recuperating in the hospital, discharged the day after my 50th birthday. Glad to have reached that date. Second year in a row that I spent my birthday in a hospital bed. 24 September 2002 I was in surgery for a ruptured appendix.

6 October: First day back at the desk, trying to catch up with the world, email, and well-wishers.

Thanks to all who sent their kind thoughts. The only upside of an experience like this aside from surviving it, is that you can appreciate the support of family, friends, medical professionals and colleagues. Thank you all.

It looks like I have no sensory, motor, or cognitive deficits as a result of the aneurysm or surgery. Keep your fingers crossed.