West Hartford Resident Raises Funds For Brain Aneurysm Awareness

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A West Hartford woman is raising funds and awareness for brain aneurysms in memory of her mother and grandmother. Diana Fritzson has organized the third annual Connecticut Brain Aneurysm Awareness 5K Walk, which will take place this weekend in West Hartford, in memory of her mother Uliana Stocco, who died from a ruptured brain aneurysm in 2014. The Walk will be held Saturday, June 2 at the West Hartford Reservoir and proceeds raised will benefit the Brain Aneurysm Foundation’s work to raise awareness and research funding for the disease.

Fritzson, who started the event three years ago, lost both her mother and her grandmother to a brain aneurysm rupture. Following her mother’s passing, her doctor suggested she schedule a screening for herself, as brain aneurysms are hereditary. The results of her first test showed no brain aneurysm, however, a recent screening detected a brain aneurysm. Fritzson will undergo a craniotomy this summer to clip the aneurysm to prevent it from bursting in the future.

“It has been my own experience that has inspired me to get involved and educate others about brain aneurysm disease and the resources available, such as the Brain Aneurysm Foundation,” Fritzson said in a press release. “It is also incredibly important that people are aware of the simple testing that is available to detect brain aneurysms. Over the past few years, I had the privilege of meeting several survivors, caregivers and family members of loved ones impacted by the disease.”

Registration for the Connecticut Walk will open at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 2. The Walk begins at 9:30 a.m. and will take place at the West Hartford Reservoir, Red Loop Trail, 1420 Farmington Ave., in West Hartford. The registration fee is $30. Register or donate here.

“It is great to see a community come together to celebrate survivors and honor those, such as Uliana Stocco, who lost their lives to a brain aneurysm rupture,” Brain Aneurysm Foundation Executive Director Christine Buckley said. “Every 18 minutes someone in the United States experiences a brain aneurysm rupture, so it is incredibly important to spread the word about the disease.”

Read more from the Brain Aneurysm Foundation below:

Brain Aneurysms by the numbers:

• Six million people in the U.S. have a brain aneurysm, 30,000 of whom will suffer a rupture each year;
• of the 30,000, 60 percent will survive;
• of those who survive, approximately 66 percent will endure permanent neurological deficits that limit their ability to resume a normal life.
• Women, more than men, suffer from brain aneurysms at a ratio of 3:2.
• African-Americans are twice as likely as Caucasians to experience a brain aneurysm rupture.
• The cost of treating brain aneurysms and caring for those who have suffered a rupture nationally is in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
• Currently the federal government only spends .83 cents per year on brain aneurysm research for each person afflicted.

For more information about the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, visit here.

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