Just days after going into a coma due to a brain aneurysm, actress-singer Isabel Granada has passed away. She was 41.
On a Facebook post early Sunday (November 5) morning, Granada’s ex-husband, Jericho Genasky Aguas, confirmed the actress’s passing.
He wrote: “Malaki ang naging parte mo sa aking buhay. Binigyan mo ako ng isang gwapot [sic] matalinong anak, makulay ang 14 yrs nating pagsasama… Sa lahat… mula sa aking pusot [sic] kaluluwa.. maraming maraming Salamat… pahinga ka na… paalam Isa…”
(“You played a big part in my life. You gave me a beautiful and smart child. It’s been a colorful 14 years… For everything… from my heart and soul… thank you very much… rest now… Goodbye, Isa.”)
Granada and Aguas have a 14-year-old a son.
She collapsed
The actress was in Doha, Qatar as a guest speaker at the Philippine Trade Tourism when she collapsed and fell into a coma. She was rushed to the HGH (Hamad General Hospital) in Qatar.
Former actress Bianca Lapus first broke the sad news in her own Facebook post, where she also asked for prayers for her dear friend.
“Isa is in critical condition. Massive internal bleeding in the head. Aneurysm,” she writes. “She suddenly collapsed.”
Ex-husband gave updates
A few days after the actress fell into a coma, her ex-husband posted an update on her condition: “Isabel’s heartbeat went down from 156 to 98,” he wrote on Facebook, “That’s a good sign. The normal heartbeat daw is 60 to 100. God performs Miracles. Continue praying. Malapit na hong magkamalay si Isabel.”
Husband Arnel Crowley recalls incident
Recalling the day Isabel fell into a coma, her husband Arnel Crowley told ABS-CBN news: “Sabi lang niya, ‘Ay nahihilo ako,’ and then she collapsed,” he said, adding that his wife was fit and healthy, so it really came as a shock. “Beforehand, there were no signs of anything talaga. She was laughing, and she was joking with me.”
He later found out that the actress suffered a “brain hemorrhage which indicates an aneurysm and in turn affected her heart.”
An aneurysm is a ballooning or swelling of blood vessels—specifically, the arteries. Though normally sturdy enough to withstand blood pressure, an aneurysm can happen when the walls of arteries are progressively weakened.
The causes of an aneurysm are often unknown, but it has been linked to familial history as well as other risk factors: high blood pressure, trauma, abnormal blood flow, high cholesterol, and history of smoking.
A cerebral aneurysm, in particular, often has no symptoms. It happens before the age of 65 more commonly in those who have a family history of the condition.
Its symptoms, which resemble that of a stroke, often appear suddenly.
- headache
- numbness
- weakness of one side of the face
- dilated pupils
- sudden change in vision
Though it can be fatal, it is treatable with the immediate medical intervention.
Our thoughts go out to the actress’s family in this difficult time.
READ: 6 Common conditions that often show no obvious symptoms