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SE Queens woman survives brain bleed

By Kelsey Durham

Tunicia Hall had been married to her husband, Raleigh, for just one month when she was admitted to the hospital with a life-threatening brain condition.

On July 30, Tunicia, a Jamaica resident, went to the emergency room complaining of a headache she said was so painful it could not be described by words. Soon after, she was admitted to the intensive care unit at North Shore-LIJ in Manhasset, L.I. with a condition called a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which caused internal bleeding in the area covering the surface of her brain.

Tunicia underwent a procedure to reduce the pressure being put on her brain by the excess fluids, and when she awoke in the ICU a few days later, most of her memory of the past few years of her life was gone — including her recent marriage to Raleigh. She even asked him at one point if they were actually married.

“All I remember at first is my head hurting tremendously,” Tunicia told a news conference this week at the hospital. “The first thing I remember after that was waking up in ICU and wondering where I was.”

With good care from her doctors and a lot of hard work on her part, Tunicia eventually regained her memory and overcame a diagnosis that could have ended her life, but she attributes most of her miraculous recovery to the love and support her husband never stopped giving her.

“She had no recollection of where she was or anything, so after a few days I realized I had to do something,” Raleigh said. “I started putting up photos from our wedding all over the walls of her room and it started to feel like we were there again. The doctors and visitors started reflecting the love they saw us share and after a while her mood started to change and I saw her start to smile again.”

A few weeks later, Tunicia was released from the hospital in good health and is back home with her husband, but the doctors and other staff members at North Shore-LIJ who helped save Tunicia’s life wanted to make sure she got back the time she lost with her new husband while battling her diagnosis.

On their three-month anniversary Tuesday, North Shore-LIJ surprised Tunicia and Raleigh with a party to celebrate their relationship and the strength Raleigh showed as he stood by his wife through her ordeal. In a conference room inside the main building at the hospital, the couple sat next to each other, their wedding pictures surrounding them, as they shared their story with the crowd.

Afterwards, the hospital surprised the husband and wife with a flower-covered cake as former American Idol contestant Ian Holmes performed a love song in honor of them and the experience that tested their relationship so early in their marriage.

“When I started putting the photos up on her wall, Tunicia saw something, and I believe it was hope,” Raleigh said. “Throughout this whole process, I knew that if we had hope, it could happen.”

Tunicia said she is now feeling as good as new and is grateful to the doctors and nurses at North Shore-LIJ for the care they gave her and making her feel as comfortable as possible during her stay. She said she feels lucky to be alive and well and knows that the love and support from her husband is a large part of what kept her going during her struggle.

“He was with me every step of the way, and with his love and God’s grace I’m here today to talk about it,” she said.

Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurh‌am@cn‌gloca‌l.com.