We love toys

I stopped by to see Steve after work and found him alert and watchful, holding a stuffed, nearly life-sized toy cat. Steve was just sitting still, holding the cat by the middle, looking intently into its blue glass eyes. During the rest of my visit, he held on to the cat, and seemed to enjoy its furry texture, touching it to his face now and then. Anyway, to the person who gave Steve the cat: it’s a hit!

Steve’s feeding tube is out, and he’s eating way more than he was just three days ago. Oh, and he's in a different room, just adjacent to the nurses' station. Noisier, but this time he's got a great view out the window.

beautifully bewildered

I love the word bewildered to describe how Steve looks a bit right now, he is so awake, alert and alive that I could cry (and have and will!!) but also bewildered......we all come pouring into his room eager to shower him with love, affection and help and he watches it all with bright eyes. And bewilderment.

He pays close attention and was eating more yesterday which means that soon he will not have to keep that feeding tube in his nose. He had a "Craniotomy" when they did they surgery and the "Skull flap" is not yet re-attached.....but it will be. Really, the whole thing is such a fascinating journey and the concept of consciousness and cognition is so amazing and miraculous!!! I am in AWE of the power of the human spirit to persevere.
He grabbed my purse yesterday and listened intently to the story of the southern California Ozzfest fiasco.....then we listened to some music while he ate. It was a very good day.

from a friend

reposting an email message from another long time friend of Steve:

I went to see steve at the ICU, so im sooo glad hes doing way better now. we hadn't talked for over a year because of unsolved mysteries in our relationship which made me feel really bad both before, but really even more after this whole thing happened. i told him im sorry for whatever friendship issues we couldn't resolve and if he still wanted to be mad at me, that he would have to get better first. i kept thinking of seeing him at bobfest just a few weeks before even tho we didnt pay any mind to each other. quinn or esther said i should go see him in the hospital cause he was so nonresponsive at the time. the theory was that if he saw me he might just get mad and maybe he would snap out of it. they said this jokingly of course. when i saw him there was really nothing funny about it cept that he had short hair which was so not like steve at all. also tina showed up while i was there and i remembered her from back in the day when she was blonde and i first met steve at a sosa show in west oakland!! i told him the As were kicking ass and he had to get well. and I told him i'd never make anything with cilantro in it for him! and i thanked him for teaching me how to play the limited guitar chords i know. i felt really scared for him, and it helped that she was there too. those who have done it, good idea to take music into the room, i think it will speed his recovery. love, ruxana

puddin

LATEST good news is that Steve ate for the 1st time today, with the Occupational Therapist. THAT IS so awesome.
More later.

Steve, You Fire Me Up!

WOW so must change since I last saw Steve in ICU five days ago and I'm inspired by how much he's regaining. I'm sorry for the delay in sharing but I am computer challenged. So here goes....

When I last saw him I watched him smile several times, move his left arm slowly in front of his face and then slowly check each finger, his wrist, elbow then shoulder for movement. He also nodded his head TO THE BEAT while I played some Al Green for him. He was moving both eyebrows and left side of his mouth to express likes and dislikes. The nurse came in on day two of my visit and said he was moving out. So I took down each card, picture, etc. and showed/read each to him. I moved the images around to exercise his eyes. He was able to fluidly move them 360... He seemed really interested in them. He had many expressions as we went thru all the messages.

Anyway, thats my belated updatey. . .

I also wanted to share that as Steve's friend for the past six years, I've practiced alot of my bodywork/massage techniques on him - he was a willing guinea pig, eternally grateful with excellent feedback. So, I'm here to tell you that Steve is sensitive to touch more than most people. He responds to it deeply with a lot of Spirit involved. If you're visiting him I want you to know that every time you touch him You are helping to heal him. Simple touch - It's profound. I know, I've been there (but that's another story). I live too far away to visit him often, but it helps to know he has such a great family and family of friends pulling for him.

As most of you know Steve has a really strong body as well as a strong will to fuckin' take control and take care of business. Let's keep playing him music!!! F**k Yeah!

top of the morning

I think we can post the web site in his room and also we'll put a notebook in there so that we can encourage him to try some of the things he might be doing with the therapists and write to each other as we visit.
Here's a message received via e-mail:

Hi Siobhan, yeah Steve does have a big ol' scar, but its okay it will be covered when he grows his hair out long again :). Yesturday he lifted his left arm up close to his head unassisted and raised his eyebrows up and down when I went to visit with my mom. I'm so glad they have him sitting up and starting Phy. Therapy now. Everyday a little more Steve comes back :)
Cousin Sheila ~

updates...

you guys are great the way you keep this blog thing updated daily. i'm in new york visiting my sister for our birthday and shows at cbgb. will be here for the next week, so i'm keeping up with steve's progress by reading all of your updates. can someone print steve's web page and post it in his room with the website address for people who don't know about it? steve sounds like he's making steady progress, that's great! keep the updates flowing.

We Love Steve

I visited today and we found the cassette player and cd player. I saw the steely dan tape there and we put on a cd for Steve.....the stuff is right next to his bed so anyone can look at the music selection and put some on for him. He seemed really tired. He sure does have a big ol scar.

Steve has moved again

I just got back from visiting Steve. He is still on the 7th floor, but now in room 306. It is a very small room with two beds. None of his stuff was in there (CD player, cassette player, pictures etc.) but I assumed that they had just moved him so I didn't ask where his stuff was.

They have also removed the bandages from his head. His hair is growing back *really* quick!

He was very alert and seemed to be able to move his head/neck some now. He did this a few times trying to get comfortable.

I brought the Steely Dan tape I made, but didn't bring the cassette player since someone (can't remember who right now) mentioned he already had one. Hopefully the tape won't vanish before he gets a chance to listen to it.

We Love Steve

from Steve's brother MIKE via e-mail today: received at 2:45 pm
you go bro!

I saw Steve this morning and they moved him from the TCIU to a regular
hospital bed (room 7316-D, 7th floor). They also started on his
physical therapy.

This morning they had him sitting up in his bed (or at least trying
to).
Steve still needed help sitting up on his own but he was able to sit
up assisted. The therapist said that they are working on his
trunk/upper-body area strength and coordination. And they are working
on stimulating his right arm.

He was VERY active in that we was looking at me and tracking me.

i think he was flashing me the devil sign

my first BLOG let's see if this works, and i am no writer so bear with me..... so it was my third visit to the hospital to visit steve today and every time there seems to be improvement. today i held steve's hand and talked to him about everything i could think of. his eyes were open and moving around, i really felt like he was aware. he kept squeezing my hand with a lot of force. at one point when i was talking, he raised his left hand and it looked like he was trying to flash the devil horns. i left a cd walkman with tiny speakers so people can play him cd's, there is a radio/cassette player in his room too. i think he got upset when i mentioned his birthday, his eyes started tearing and so then i got upset. then iggy and some others came in so i left.

in the grand scheme of steve's friends, i am a pretty new friend, i've known him less than two years, so it is so awesome to see so many people coming together for him. i swear he has probably had more visitors than anyone else on his floor combined.

i think that is it for now...

Bringing music to Steve

We all know how much Steve loves music. When I visited him, I couldn't help but think he might like to have some tunes at least once in a while. I mentioned that to Wes on Saturday and he said the problem was that the hospital doesn't like people plugging things into the wall. I can understand that, so I was thinking about leaving this little cassette player/radio I have that takes only batteries. Since it can't be plugged into the wall, they shouldn't mind (should they?).

Then when people visit, they could bring music that they have shared with Steve in the past.

What do you all think?

Happy Birthday, Steve :)

We Love Steve

steve is in a different room, a private room with a tv....i think it's room 11 now. it was weird to go up there and go into the old room, a sudden shock when there was someone clearly NOT him in the bed, oh, hello!! he's watching the tv for sure and has been able to respond when the doctor asked him to raise 2 fingers he put up all 5 fingers, and he wiggled his toes on his left foot when asked to do that. he can't change the channels or anything on the tv so we put it on some skateboarding competition for him. the nurse is super nice, she said if we can get past the guards she doesn't care how mnay visitors are in there if we close the door. however, the guards usually let 2 at a time. we had 3 people in this morning because I think the guard that let me in went on a break and it was different guard. I was feeling like maybe I should take a break from the blog but then I got this awesome e-mail from Germany and so I know that it's helping people keep in touch who aren't able to be here, I will repost the message below:
from e-mail - 8/21/05
Hi so many thanks from Bremen. I heard from Marco what happen. I don´t know
what to say. I was so sad that I wasn´t able to come to the BOB fest,and I
had the idea to come as soon as the flights are cheaper.Now I know there is
always a reason for stuff like this.I was so hearbroken that I wasn´t able
to come,but now I have the chance to come over as soon as possible.And
to be there for a friend in bad times means more to me than to be there just
ingood times.Maybe my german accent will do something good and maybe the
typical german mistakes will make him laugh. ( Make party..a.s.o.) What you
guys are doing is so much more BOB for me ,you not even know. It is not
toplay in a cool band ,drink the most kümmerling or stuff, it is all
aboutfriendship.You gave me and all people in Bremen and Bath the chance to
knowwhat going on with Steve. Thank you so much.I called Marco today to let
himknow about this side. - P.S. When my sister layed in a coma ,we played
musicfor her.After she woke up ,she told us a lot what happend.She still
asked mymother to finish the story she started to tell her, and she wanne know
howthe story ends.- My mother needed months to find out ,what my sister
meant:when she was laying in a coma ,and my mother get interrupted by a
nurse while telling her a story.My sister is doing well today,and I am
sureno matter what Steve will do good someday ,as long as he will have
friendslike you and all people from the BOB family.
Thank you again .see you in Oakland ..Carola ( corolla )
We Love Steve

The More, The Merrier

If anyone else would like to be a contributor to this blog, please send me an e-mail at jenwade@earthlink.net and I'll send you a blogger invite.

Success story

There's an article in today's Chronicle about a Stanford University freshman, Joe Kay, who in his senior year of high school had a tragic, aneurysm-like accident. Immediately after the accident, he was unable to speak and paralyzed on his right side (sound familiar?) Now a year and a half later, he has re-learned how to walk and talk, and despite having initially lost the ability to read and write letters and numbers, has academically reached the point where he is ready to enter Stanford.

Article here.

Kay has had to work incredibly hard to get to the point where he is now, but it's pretty amazing to see the potential for recovery after such an injury.

Eye contact

Iggy and I just got back from seeing Steve and various other Chinn family members. Even though this was the second time I'd been to visit him and I think the fourth time Iggy's been, it was the first time we'd seen him awake. While it was great to see the progress Steve has made so far, I have to admit that in a way, it was tough finally seeing for ourselves how far he still has to go.

We stopped over at Steve's house before heading to the hospital and hung out with Doug a bit. I invited him to join the blog, so maybe you'll see something from him here soon. And then in the lobby of the hospital we ran into Steve's dad and chatted with him a bit. Iggy recognized him because he'd met him before, but even though I hadn't met him, I could tell right away that he was Steve's dad--he looks so much like him! He told us how much he appreciates the outpouring of support they've had from Steve's friends. "I didn't realize that Steve was so well-liked!" he joked, "I guess he gets it from me!"

Even though he was joking, Steve's dad actually is quite a charmer, and he even managed to get the grumpy security guards at the front desk laughing and smiling with him. (By the way, if you're planning on visiting, I suggest you read the instructions Siobhan posted below, because the hospital security staff are, generally speaking, not the most helpful people in the world).

As others have reported, Steve was alert and moving his left side a lot. Iggy and I both stood on his left side while we visited with him and held his hand. His head was slumped over towards his right side, and I realized when we were leaving that we probably should have stood on his other side so that he could see us, because he can move his eyes but not his head. I know that I should have known better since others have posted here that Steve was looking at them, but I guess it didn't sink in until we were leaving. When I turned to wave to him, Steve clearly looked at me, and then moved his eyes and looked at Iggy. That eye contact was so reassuring for me that the Steve we all love is really in there. I'm bummed I didn't get to experience more of it today, but now I'll know for next time!

one more thing:

yo I am playing a radio show tonight in north oakland/berkeley area on 104.1 fm from 6-8 pm, tune in to catch a bunch of metal, hardcore, etc. the show will be dedicated to my bro steve chinn "stiles" so music he's played and likes will be featured.....
dj "miss anthropic"


We Love Steve

new info on steve.
room is 10B on 5 floor. it is not "trauma" unit but "transitional care unit". He looks really good. When you check in with the guard desk they'll' assign a pass and when you come out please let the guards know that you're done so that they can let 2 more people in.
We probably have to do this like a relay race, where we "pass the baton" between us. Steve is able to follow some instructions now but tires easliy. his cousin Sheila and I put the pictures and cards back up on the walls so it is more personal for him.
cheers

Steve is moved now to the trauma care unit, it's on the 5th floor and visiting hours are 11am to 8pm. still only 2 visitors at a time, and you have to check in at the main desk when you 1st come in through the automatic doors to get a pass. when people are finished visiting they go back down and tell the desk then the next 2 can go in. he is sharing a room with 2 other people but apparently this floor is supposed to better suited for recovery than the intensive/acute care room. i got to see him when he was being wheeled out of icu into the elevator.I think he saw me too. I am going to do a pirate radio show tomorrow and play all stuff that Steve will like. It has been a while since I did any radio. He has come with me to the show many times and we've had lots of fun being obnoxious on the air. This one's for you stiles.

news today, steve is moving to "TCU" sometime today....we'll provide room # as soon as we know it. A cd player will be with him and some AL GREEN is in order.......

reposting from Mel's visit to highland as so eloquently described in a mspace.com bulletin
My first trip to Highland!
Body: A different kind of "highland" than the type that I'm used to(!), but I just went to see Steve in the ICU this morning...... Here is my first real "bulletin"................

In my life to date, I've been graced with the good fortune of never having had to be in an ICU. I've also never been in a regular, in-patient hospital since I've been in this country. So, feeling a bit intimidated by not knowing the US hospital jargon, passwords, or peculiar tests that I may have to be aware of or be subjected to, I contacted Mikhail earlier in the day requesting help in this matter. Thankfully I received eloquent and precise tutelage on the "Beginner's Guide to Highland hospital". (Thanks so much Mikhail!)

So! Armed with my newly learned and memorized instructions, I left the studio where I do my sculpture, down by Pete and Paula's house, at about 2.30 this morning and went and visited Steve, in hospital. I figured that there probably wouldn't be any other visitors there at 3.00 in the morning and that it would have probably been a while since he had seen anybody.

I found my way to his wee room without any problems. He was about to be bathed, so the nurse who was writing in his charts, said that I only had a few minutes. I said that was fine and that I just wanted to give him a hello and a smile.

As I walked into the room, I thought Steve was alseep, so I remained quiet, but then I saw his eyes open and turn towards me. I piped in with "hey Steve, it's me, Mel, I just stopped in to say hello and to make sure they're treating you well". I held his hand and said that he needed to be strong and to come back to us soon. I passed on Mikhail's message that we all love him and told him that he was dearly missed but loved even more. That was then pretty much time-up for me, so I kissed him and said goodnight, then went on my way. (Walking completely down the wrong corridor, ending up in some wierd, barely lit "emergency exit only" place, then having to retrace my steps!)

As this was my first visit, I have nothing to compare his level of recovery to, but given that the man was in surgery for how many hours(?), undergoing MAJOR surgery in his HEAD, less than two weeks ago, I think his recovery is pretty fucking amazing! Lest we not complain about the humble hangover ever again!!

I firmly believe that I SAW Steve this morning. We had good, strong eye contact and I'm positive that he knew that it was me that was with him. He's in there; just fine. His body needs to heal. Not only from the stroke, but from the insane battering that he has endured from the surgery. Even a simple tooth extraction is an invasive surgery that the body needs time to recover from. Multiply that by about one million and you might get close to the trauma that Steve's body has undergone. The simple fact that he has made it this far, is testament to his strength (or plain stubborness!).

My 95 year old grandmother had a massive stroke when she was 46 and she fully recovered. That was 50 years ago! She told me, that the worst thing about it (latterly), was once she was home from the hospital and she was aware of everything; the frustration of not being able to physically function properly, of knowing that those inherrant actions required to feed yourself; to take your spoonful of food; bend your elbow; sup your mouthful; chew; swallow and smile; were so alien to the body's ability, almost everything seemed impossible.

She said that she had to mentally re-teach her body to move in the she wanted it to, that inherrant action was no longer there, even for something like scratching her nose. She felt the itch but she had to make her hand scratch it.

Over the next year and a half she re-educated her body in how to move, to talk, to write etc. It was all through frustration, stubborness and perserverance.

She also said that it was really important not to be treated or talked to like a child or some stupid oaf, because that only fuelled the negative fires!

I was 27 when she told me about that part of her life. I had no idea that she had been through all that!

We need to be strong for Steve and help him to learn how to make his body work again. We have to be ourselves when we are with him and further down the path, not to worry too much about upsetting him, by playing music, or not, or telling him about the Raider's losing (sorry!) or whatever!

Let's face it, I think one of the common factors that we, as a group of friends share, is that we're all pissed-off about something. Another is that we ALL need to be challenged in this life. Otherwise what's the fucking point?!

Because Steve's challenges have now taken a drastic change of course, our have in part done so too. We must all support one another, always. Most of us have no children! WE are all WE have.

On a total tangent, I also noticed probably for the first time, what amazing green eyes, Steve has. Quite beautiful really!

Well, that kind of went places I didn't expect! Whewwww! I am now giving in to my body's natural urge to PASS THE FUCK OUT! at 5.30am! Thankfully I do not have to work today! Yeah! Lie in!! My favourite!

Sleep well my friends - Mel

Holy Shit! Did I write all that?

well here it is day 11. the feeding tube is still there as is a small fever. steve was trembling on and off, the nurse says there are deliberately trying to make him cold to lower his core temp. i have read that artificially creating hypothermic type conditions in stroke 'victims' (ugh what a horrible phrase) has shown promising results in recovery. his temp is fluctuating though between 98.9 and again up to 100 and 101. he had a cooling blanket on. he was sleeping and then woke up later while we were there. he listens to us, it seems. fuck it is hard to tell. we want to play music for him but every little thing is like an agonizing decision because he can't say whether he likes it or not and what if it is torturing him instead of making him feel better?? he loves music so much, it might be helpful or just depressing for him, how to know?? if only he could somehow express what he'd like. that is the next thing to wait and hope for. he is in icu still. his left hand has to be strapped down because he has been trying to pull out the tube in his nose and mess with other stuff.
we love you dear friend

We Love Steve

repost a comment from Quinn;
"I dreamt of Steve fully recovered last night."
dreams can come true!!


We Love Steve

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

it really is super cool to read other people's observations cuz I feel like my perspective is clouded sometimes by being a social worker and knowing so many people who've had strokes. DAMN, it sucks knowing even one.
I have decided that I hate strokes and I hope that no one ever has to go through what Steve and his family and friends are right now...if I could help to rid the world of strokes right now, I would. But on the other hand the brain is such a magical, complex and amazing thing. I usually don't think about how fragile it also is. And how precious and fragile our lives here on earth are as well. I want to post an e-mail from our friend Kate C., after visiting today:
8/15/05:
I popped by Highland today, and Steve was alert. I was chatting with
another visitor and commented that he was squeezing my hand pretty
hard,
and he immediately let go, so it seemed like he might be aware of at
least
some of what we were saying. The other person (Dawn of Faun Fables) was
showing a book of photos of Australia, and Steve was definitely looking
at
the photos.

steve’s progress is very slow but steady. siobahn has given an excellent account of steve’s prognosis and recovery as well as some helpful links, so I don’t have much to add, just some observations from visits over the past ten days for folks who haven’t had a chance to see him or are just interested.

updates
08.07.05 sunday – stopped by the silver lion to have a beer with dean when lyndsay informed us that steve had an aneurysm earlier that day. What a shock. We drove over to Highland to see how things were going since we didn’t know what else to do or how bad things were. doug gave us a quick brief and said he would keep people posted. crazy how things can be perfectly normal one minute, and the next…

08.08.05 monday - went by to see steve with dean this afternoon. all his beautiful hair is gone but he is warm and alive. he's on a ventilator but is breathing on his own. he's still unconscious but hopefully he will wake up soon. he'll be in intensive care until then. please send good thoughts his way.

08.10.05 wednesday - still asleep, all that morphine. he opened his eyes today but not responsive. hope his family is coping okay. nice to see people leaving notes on the wall. i added siobahn's pictures as well as some colorful orchids and coral reefs.

08.13.05 saturday - much more active today. he opened his eyes a few times and had a firm grip on my hand. he had a slight fever but he seems fine at the moment and seems to be able to swallow okay. no respirator either.

08.15.05 monday - what a difference since saturday morning. he opened his eyes a few times and squeezed my hand with the fractured finger so hard, my eyes watered from the pain. siobhan had just left with iggy so he seemed awake and active especially with the left side - right side is still very weak. the drain tube in his head should be removed soon but until then he has to stay in intensive care. his lowgrade fever went down as we were there, so that was good. dean met me there and we caught up a little bit. dean loves to tell stories so steve got an earful if he was awake. couldn't really tell. he sure looks good for his age, must be the family genes. it seems like he's getting better every day that passes. the nurse said they enjoy looking at steve's pictures enjoying life as it puts a human face to the patient. good.

08.17.05 wednesday – steve had his eyes wide open today, looking directly at me. he has a low grade fever again at 99.7 and was active as usual on his left side. They took the drain tube out of his skull which is good news and put a splint on his right foot/lower leg, his weak side, to keep his foot in a normal position and to prevent atrophy of the leg muscles as he recuperates. his dad was there visiting and he was very nice and we chatted a bit about how steve was coming along…now i know how steve has aged so well, it’s in his genes! 7pm is end of visiting hours so i had to scoot. will check in again friday as deadlines have piled up on my desk at work and steve seems to have a parade of well wishers. good for him :)

this blog thing is new to me. I have been talking to my family and others about our Advance Directives because a lot of us have specific things we want done if we're not able to make decisions for ourselves but haven't discussed it with anyone or made anyone aware of our wishes. Also, if someone had to gather your important papers and take care of business for you, would they be able to? www.cmanet.org is the web site for the California Medical Association for information on advance health care planning and durable power of attorney for health care.
There is a lot on my mind these past 10 days.
we've added a paypal link on the welovesteve page for donations.

We Love Steve

it is so reassuring to know that Steve has so many friends, thanks to everyone.

old SOSA pic I found.

went to highland and was there with Steve's dad and the doctor. The doctor thinks that all of the visitors really help and not to worry whether there's a "good time" to come, as Steve will rest when he needs to. He encouraged talking but not leaning over yelling cuz we aren't sure if Steve can hear what we're saying. He also said that he seems to respond to "chick's" voices more but it's not clear whether what he hears are our words or just the sound. It's possible that he might make out some of the words or it just sounds like jumbled noise. It seems frustratingly random. Like Steve is in a fog. He has his eyes open and is moving his left side a lot but not his right.
he looks at us and seems much more awake now than even yesterday. The fever that started up Wednesday that was over 102 then, is down to 99 today. He is breathing on his own and has a naso-gastric tube that is providing nutrition. In a few days the doctor wants to put the tube in his stomach as a Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG), which they think is more comfortable. scary though. There is also what I think is called an Extra-ventricular drain - where a tube is inserted into the brain of hemorrhagic stroke patients to drain out accumulated fluid and blood. The doc says this tube should be removed very soon.
I found this information on the web about aneurysms:

Cerebral Aneurysms A cerebral aneurysm is a weak spot in the wall of an artery in the brain. This weak spot can gradually enlarge, producing a balloon-shaped defect. As the aneurysm enlarges, the wall further weakens and can eventually rupture, spilling blood into or around the brain. Blood that spills into the brain is called an intracerebral hemorrhage. Blood that spills around the brain fills what is known as the subarachnoid space and is therefore called a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Rupture of a cerebral aneurysm is the most common cause of a subarachnoid hemorrhage. The peak age for a cerebral aneurysm to rupture is between 45 and 60 years of age, although it also happens in children and teenagers. About 5 percent of the population have some type of aneurysm, but only about 4 out of 100,000 people sustain a subarachnoid hemorrhage from a ruptured aneurysm. Types of Cerebral Aneurysms Approximately 5% of the adult population has an aneurysm but is unaware of its presence. Aneurysms do not appear to be inherited or genetically transmitted. Rarely, aneurysms have been found to occur within families. Most often, these families have other diseases that serve as warning signs that bring them to the attention of a physician. The familial factors associated with the risk of cerebral aneurysms are still being studied. The current recommendation is screening tests for an aneurysm only when two or more first- degree relatives in one family have been affected. Saccular aneurysms, also known as congenital aneurysms, are the most common type of cerebral aneurysm and occur at the branching points of the large blood vessels at the base of the brain. At these branching points, the walls of the blood vessels are exposed to increased stress as the blood flow is forced to change directions. This constant stress can gradually damage the vessels and cause the vessel wall to balloon, forming an aneurysm. The formation of such a saccular aneurysm is a gradual process occurring over years. Thus, the risk of rupture increases with age.

Steve's might be more likely a saccular aneurysm because his mom had one too. Now I don't know what else to say, more later.