She has not been able to go back to work and still has problems with fatigue, but she has spent a great deal of time "paying back" the people who were involved in saving her life, particularly as a volunteer for the Life Flight organization.

"They were just wonderful people," she said of Life Flight. "They truly are neighbors helping neighbors."

VIOLENT HEADACHE

As she looks back, Washburn can remember feelings of pressure behind her ear that could have been a precursor to the aneurysm, but the experience was something she never imagined would happen to her.

Mary Ann Bradford, from Peru, had a similar experience with a ruptured brain aneurysm.

"I was doing errands, like I usually do in the morning, but I pulled into the driveway (that day) with a violent headache," she recalled. "I shut the car off, went into the house and lay on the kitchen bench. From then on, I remember nothing."

Her husband, David, was not home at the time, but fortunately, he arrived soon after her collapse, she learned later. Although she responded when he asked what was wrong, he felt something serious was going on and called for the ambulance.

She also spent weeks in Burlington recovering, and when she returned home, doctors said she would either need to be admitting into a nursing home or would need "24-7" care.

"My husband was retired, and he said he would take care of me," she said. "He had to do everything for me, and he was so wonderful through it all."

She has rebounded since those troublesome days two years ago, but now, as she approaches her 65th birthday, she has returned to work running her own tailoring business.

"My memory is crap," she said, "and I don't go out of the house without a note with me (with directions and any other relevant information for the errand she is on).

But, she said, "everyone is so happy to see me back."

It sometimes "perturbs" her that she can't move as well as she did prior to the aneurysm, but she is pleased with her progress and also appreciative of all those who helped her through the ordeal.

"I guess the best part is that I don't remember (the attack)," she said. "Beyond that, I've done remarkably well."

E-mail Jeff Meyers at: