Hi, V.!
Wow! You sure have been handed a doozy, lately. I am a nurse, who used to work in the emergency room and while I have not had any experience treating PKD, I have had patients come through with brain aneurysms. Generally speaking, people who have their aneurysms surgically repaired, do very well. Unfortunately, if you have an aneurysm that "breaks", the result can be disasterous. While I cannot give you advice regarding your specific situation as I am not privy to you specific information (nor am I a physician), I really encourage you to follow up with your physician(s) to discuss any and all options regarding your situation. Some patients can have their aneurysms stented, which is basically a "coil" that is placed within the blood vessel to strengthen the site of the aneurysm. Not all aneurysms can nor should be stented, as this treatment is determined by the size of the aneurysm, the placement within the brain, and your overall health condition. You do have the right to have all your questions about your condition. If you are unsatisfied with your physician's response to your situation, feel free to get a second opinion, as this too is your right. If your physician feels you need an operation for your aneurysm soon, please get an idea of the timeline he/she is thinking of and try to get a second opinion within that timeline if possible (again, only if you want a second opinion). Due to the potential severity of any aneurysm, time can be of the essence. As far as more information about what PKD and related aneurysms are, there is a reliable web site through the National Institute of Health where you can get straight, easy to understand information about polycystic kidney disease and aneurysms. I advise you to be leary of some of the websites you may come across, as they will feed into your fears and not give you reliable information. Any info you come across on the web, take it to your physician to an open and honest discussion with him/her. Just go to:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthtopics.html
Good luck, and I will keep you and your family in my prayers!
-J.