'I'm lucky to be alive after brain aneurysm - don't ignore the signs' Andrea underwent life-saving surgery a year after tragically losing her son to leukaemia Andrea Axcell with her grandson (Image: Andrea Axcell) A Grimsby grandmother who nearly died of a brain aneurysm has urged others not to ignore the symptoms. Andrea Axcell was 47 when she suffered a subarachnoid aneurysm - an uncommon stroke caused by a burst blood vessel in the brain - in 2009. She has since become a grandmother and celebrated her Ruby Wedding Anniversary and is now desperate to raise awareness of the signs to ensure others have the best chance of survival.