A woman claims her husband suffered a brain hemorrhage that cost him part of his skull because he consumed too many energy drinks.
A number of media outlets picked up the Facebook post before it was deleted. Dates, locations, and other information were not included in the story. No doctors commented on the issue, and the post only cited “Brianna.”
Her posts and a photo posted on a photography Facebook page have been deleted. She posted stark images of Austin with part of his skull missing. It’s unclear what brand—or type—of energy drink Austin was consuming.
Austin’s doctors blamed the severe medical condition on energy drinks, Brianna said. The two are expecting to have a child together.
“Being pregnant is supposed to be one of the most amazing journeys you will ever embark on,” Brianna wrote. “You’re creating a new life. You are experiencing unconditional love for someone you have not even met.”
“I still remember my mother in law waking me up that morning. ‘Austin had an accident,’“ she wrote. ”All I knew was that my husband was in the hospital. The worst part? I didn’t know why.”
Austin was already undergoing surgery as she and her family traveled to the hospital.
“The next day was round two of brain surgery. Following this were strokes, seizures, swelling, and more things we weren’t prepared for. There was a moment, sitting by his hospital bed, just praying he would be okay, that I knew I would never give up on him. No matter how messy our life would become. I was going to be by his side through all of it,” she added.
When she delivered her child, Brianna wrote that “a beautiful miracle happened as I delivered our son. Austin woke up.”
“I went about a week without seeing him. I thought about him every day. I cried as I looked at my child who looked just like his daddy. When the baby was only a week old, I left him with my in-laws. I knew I needed to see Austin. I needed to tell him that our baby was here,” she said.
Later, she elaborated on his condition.
“Our life isn’t normal. There are doctors visits and hospital trips—so many that I loose[sic] count. But we are here. Fighting. I wake up every day to take care of our beautiful little boy and my husband. I prepare the meals, do physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. I help him with personal hygiene. I help him walk. I help him with every aspect of his life. And in between these tasks I take care of our very busy eight month old. It is hard, and I am tired, but we make the most of it. He isn’t the same man I fell in love with, but I still fall further everyday, We are fighting to help him recover. To make his life better,” she wrote.
According to a study from April 2017, drinking 32 ounces of energy drink is associated with potentially harmful changes in blood pressure and heart function that are beyond those seen with caffeine alone.
Caffeine in doses up to 400 mg (about five cups of coffee) is generally recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration. While energy drinks usually contain caffeine, little is known about the safety of some of their other ingredients, the study team writes in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
”The energy drink industry claims that their products are safe because they have no more caffeine than a premium coffee house coffee,” said Dr. Jennifer L. Harris from University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity in Storrs, who wasn’t involved in the study.
“However, energy drinks also contain a proprietary ‘energy blend,’ which typically consists of stimulants and other additives. Some of these ingredients (including taurine and guarana) have not been FDA-approved as safe in the food supply, and few studies have tested the effects of caffeine consumption together with these ‘novelty’ ingredients,” she said by email.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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