“If it wasn’t for having the hives, I would never have known I had an aneurysm that could rupture at any minute,” Martha Hernandez said

NEED TO KNOW

• Florida resident Martha Hernandez went to a Miami emergency room for recurring hives, only for doctors to discover an unrelated life-threatening brain aneurysm
• Further testing showed the aneurysm was larger and more serious than first believed, leading Hernandez, then 39, to undergo emergency surgery the next day
• Hernandez, who describes the experience as “crazy,” has since returned to work and said the ordeal left her “thankful to be alive”

A Florida woman went to the hospital because of a stubborn case of hives — which led doctors to discover an unrelated and life-threatening diagnosis.

Martha Hernandez had never experienced hives before when a rash began spreading from her thighs to her chest and face in 2025, according to Baptist Health South Florida and Local 10 News.  

So when the outbreaks kept returning — and were accompanied by headaches and severely elevated blood pressure — Hernandez, then 39, went to the emergency department at Baptist Health Baptist Hospital in Miami.

That visit led to an unexpected finding: a brain aneurysm.

“The brain aneurysm was an incidental finding,” Hernandez said, per Baptist Health. “It’s crazy how I came in for one thing and they found another.”

Hernandez had no idea anything was wrong with her brain before that day.

“If it wasn’t for having the hives, I would never have known I had an aneurysm that could rupture at any minute,” she said. “Coming into the emergency department saved my life.”

After the aneurysm was discovered, Hernandez — who is a wife and mother and helps run her family’s retail and carpentry business — was referred for additional testing. 

The tests revealed that the aneurysm was larger and more complicated than initially thought — and doctors told her she would need to remain in the hospital and get emergency surgery the following morning.

Hernandez, who thought she would simply undergo an outpatient procedure and head home afterward, said she was stunned.

“When he said the diagnosis, I didn’t have any words,” she recalls. “I felt that my life was coming to an end.”

“I was crying, but at the same time, I couldn’t believe it,” Hernandez added. “I wasn’t even 40 years old. For me to have a brain aneurysm at the age of 39, it was just a shocker.”

Faced with the news, Hernandez agreed to move forward with her doctor’s recommended treatment.

“I told him, ‘Okay, I trust you, and if we need to do this, then we’ll do it,’ ” she recalled. “Realistically speaking, there was no other choice.”

The next day, Hernandez underwent a minimally invasive endovascular procedure in which doctors used coils and a stent to close off the aneurysm and support the damaged blood vessel.

When she woke up, her mother was at her bedside. 

“I actually thought that I was going into the procedure,” she said. “[My mother] clarified to me, ‘No, it’s done. You’re good.’ ”

Hernandez spent several days recovering in the intensive care unit before returning home, where she was told to rest and avoid lifting.

For someone accustomed to staying constantly busy, recovery was an adjustment.

“I’m a very active person. I’m always doing something,” she said. “In this case, I couldn’t do anything.”

Follow-up imaging later showed that the aneurysm had completely closed and the damaged vessel had been repaired.

Hernandez has since returned to her family business, as well as her fundraising work to provide basic necessities to children and families in Miami and her native Honduras.

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The experience, she said, has left her with a renewed sense of gratitude.

“I’m thankful to be alive,” Hernandez said. “I know that I’m here for a purpose to continue with the nonprofit and to continue helping people.”

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