A Brain Rupture Strikes Miles Away: Bernadette’s Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
What can you do when disease strikes you down miles from home? Bernadette, a Georgia native, sought care at Pacific Neuroscience Institute. The multidisciplinary expert team was more than she could wish for. In fact, despite excellent doctors close at hand, she continues to fly to Los Angeles to see her original care team at PNI and Saint John’s Health Center.
Patient Care Far From Home
Bernadette, originally from Georgia, suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), a kind of stroke, from rupture of a complex intracranial aneurysm while visiting Los Angeles in June 2025. She received her initial endovascular treatment at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica under the care of Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s Stroke & Neurovascular Center team.
Neurointerventional surgeon, Ashkan Mowla, MD, explains, “Bernadette’s care included coil embolization, followed by flow diversion as part of her staged treatment.
Because she needed to return home to Georgia after her initial procedure, we helped coordinate her ongoing care by connecting her with several nationally recognized endovascular neurosurgeons in Georgia for follow-up and continuation of treatment.
Despite having excellent options closer to home, she chose to return to Los Angeles on multiple occasions so that the team could continue her treatment at PNI until her aneurysm was ultimately completely treated.
What is particularly gratifying is that she expressed appreciation not only for her procedural care, but for the entire PNI team. She specifically recognized Kamila Szweda, our nurse practitioner, as an important part of her experience.
This is a wonderful example of the patient-centered, comprehensive care that PNI strives to provide and the trust our patients place in our team. It is a reflection of the dedication and professionalism of the entire team.”
Exceptional Multidisciplinary Care at PNI
Bernadette expressed her appreciation with a very meaningful message of recognition which reflects on the exceptional care provided by our entire team at PNI.
About Dr. Ashkan Mowla
Ashkan Mowla, MD, FAHA, FAAN, is a neuro-interventional surgeon at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute. He specializes in minimally invasive endovascular procedures to treat conditions and diseases of the brain and spine, including stroke, brain aneurysm, brain and spine arteriovenous malformation and fistula, and carotid and intracranial disease. He is a triple board-certified neurologist with fellowship training in stroke and cerebrovascular diseases and interventional neuroradiology.
About Kamila Sweda, NP
Kamila Sweda, RN, MSN, FNP, is a neurointerventional surgery nurse practitioner at Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s Stroke & Neurovascular Center. She cares for patients at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica. Her background includes her experience as an orthopedic neurology nurse in an inpatient setting where she developed the educational total joint program for patients anticipating total joint surgery. She has also served as a primary care provider in internal medicine while working as a hospitalist.
Related Links
About the Author
