Well-known Barrie businessman, Todd Tuckey, survives brain aneurysm
He's been known as Lucky Tuckey after winning more than half a million dollars in lottery prizes, but after recently surviving a brain aneurysm, Todd Tuckey feels luckier than ever.
The well-known Barrie businessman was getting ready for his step-daughter's 15th birthday party when he says he suddenly felt a pain in his neck.
"I just finished vacuuming the pool, and I was standing there looking, going I better get the lawn cut, and it was just 'Bam!' It was like somebody just hit me in the back of the neck with a baseball bat," he says.
Tuckey went inside to lay down and cool off, only to wake up five minutes later in a pool of sweat. Then he rushed to the bathroom and vomited.
He says he knew something wasn't right and called his wife, who was out running errands.
"Fortunately, she was close to home, and she said, 'I'm on my way. I'll be right there.'"
He was rushed to the emergency room where doctors at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) diagnosed Tuckey as having pinched a nerve. They froze the back of his neck and sent him home with a morphine prescription.
Two days later, he says he didn't feel any better, and that's when a call to his family doctor resulted in a second trip to the Barrie hospital.
This time, the staff were waiting to run tests.
"I don't remember going back," Tuckey says. "I just remember being in RVH and one of the doctors saying, 'You have a brain aneurysm. We've got an ambulance coming to take you to Toronto."
Doctors at Toronto Western expected Tuckey to spend two weeks in the intensive care unit, but Lucky Tuckey recovered quickly, and doctors discharged him just eight days later.
However, his medical team still doesn't know what caused the aneurysm.
"That's the one thing that still scares me," he says. "They don't know the actual cause. They never did find the source of the bleed."
Tuckey is now recovering comfortably at home.
He recently posted to social media how thankful he was to have survived his ordeal and credited those who have had their COVID-19 vaccines with being a part of his survival.
"Had my aneurysm happened a month earlier, there would not have been space for me in the ICU at Toronto Western Hospital, nor would there have been a nurse available 24 hours a day to care for just me," he wrote in part.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It’s discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.