Thanks to Fraidy Cats for their support.
Cheryllyne Vaz is a realtor from West St. Paul who has worn a saree every single day of 2024 to raise awareness for brain aneurysms. The beautiful, flowing garments have given Vaz, originally from India, a creative way to draw attention to a difficult topic.
“How do I make a very scary, serious topic fun for people?” she said. The answer: Daily sarees. And people have responded in droves. In March, the Brain Aneurysm Foundation invited Vaz to Washington, D.C., for an advocacy day. She’s been featured in Woodbury Magazine. Rep. Angie Craig sent a letter of thanks for Vaz’s work.
“I get complete strangers reaching out to me with their personal stories about people who had brain aneurysms in their lives, people who have died, people whose lives have been permanently altered,” Vaz said. “And all of them are women.”
Brain Aneurysms and Women
Vaz’s experience with brain aneurysms started in December 2019 when an aneurysm was discovered and she nearly had brain surgery. A second opinion revealed that her aneurysm was too small to operate and her doctor recommended annual MRIs to monitor the situation. It became preventative medicine for Vaz, and otherwise didn’t impact her day-to-day life.
Then five people in Vaz’s network died from brain aneurysms. All suffered from untreated headaches, they were all women of color, all mothers who left children behind, and all between the ages of 39-49.
Vaz went into research mode and discovered that brain aneurysms impact women more than men (by a ratio of 3:2). Fluctuating estrogen levels brought on by perimenopause might be the cause.
Like many other health issues impacting women, symptoms such as headaches or blurred vision can be ignored or dismissed.
“Women, because we are nurturers, we tend to not put ourselves first,” Vaz said. That results in taking a pill and pushing off concerns about symptoms. Vaz also worries about other barriers, whether it’s undocumented immigrants too scared to seek help or a language barrier that keeps someone from understanding the severity of the issue.
In many cases, unruptured brain aneurysms have no symptoms. They can only be detected with an MRI (not a CAT scan). That’s why Vaz is working with State Rep. Mary Frances Clardy on a bill to require health insurance companies to cover MRIs.
What Can You Do?
Vaz encourages three simple things anyone can do:
- Encourage governors to declare September as Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month.
- Advocate for Congress to pass Ellie’s Law, which will allocate $10 million per year for brain aneurysm research.
- Raise awareness of the issue and encourage anyone with continuous headaches to get an MRI.
(Photos by Andy Harwood)
Daily Saree
Numbers: When Vaz started this project she owned only six sarees. Now she has over 400.
Not tired of sarees: “The crazy part of almost 366 days of wearing a saree every day is anything else feels very odd,” Vaz said. “So I think people are going to see me continue wearing a saree.”
Minnesota winter: A lot of people ask Vaz how she manages wearing sarees in cold weather. The answer is typical Minnesota—it’s all about layers. She wears turtlenecks with long sleeves and fleece leggings under the saree.
Family project: Vaz moved to West St. Paul with her husband and three kids in 2020. The saree campaign has become a family project. Her husband, Andy Harwood, set up a permanent photo studio in his office to photograph each day’s saree. Vaz doesn’t post daily photos, but you can see more on her Instagram account.
Neighborhood news happens thanks to our members.
