Amid Kirsten Storms‘ hiatus from General Hospital, which began over the summer when she moved from Los Angeles to Nashville, she’s sharing a new health update with fans. Storms had brain surgery to remove “a very large cyst that had split into two” in 2021 and received some unexpected news during a visit to her doctor this past January.
In a new Instagram post, Storms revealed that her neurosurgeon has been “monitoring the cyst that he left on my brain when he removed one that was causing me problems,” which is why she had a scan earlier this year. “I had symptoms that the doctors thought could’ve been brain related,” Storms explained.
However, she was “shocked” to be told that doctors “found an aneurysm on the right side” of her brain. “I had a procedure done that weekend where the doctor thread a camera from my leg up to my brain,” Storms added. “(It’s a routine procedure, but the path inside your body that they lead the camera through is *insane … THE CAMERA GOES THROUGH YOUR ARMPIT, guys. Your. Armpit.)”
She noted that the aneurysm was “nothing bad, just not typical,” but said she didn’t have the coiling treatment that weekend. “I checked in with my super smart surgeon, completed my next few months at work, started my hiatus, and left California,” Storms shared. She revealed that her coiling procedure is now being schedule “for sometime in the next two weeks.”
She went on to reveal that this new health issue was the reason behind her move from Los Angeles. “Aneurysms can (obviously) be caused by stress,” she explained. “Brain cysts? I believe that is possible too…and since the January scan showed a new, but *very small*, squatter (aka cyst) on my brain stem – it was clear I needed to change some things in my life asap. For my own personal reasons, no longer living in Los Angeles was very important to me. The biggest reason for the move was [my daughter] Harper, but a lot of it was for my physical and mental health. And my overall happiness.”
In the post’s caption, Storms reflected on her January hospital stay. “A few days after I was discharged from the hospital, someone created a blog post that said I was in the hospital that weekend because I tried to ‘unalive’ myself,” the actress wrote. “I couldn’t understand why a person would makeup something that terrible, when they had no idea why I was really there. There are a few really bad apples out there. We all know that…but there are people in my life who I am truly thankful to know.”
She specifically thanked her best friend, Emme, who has been by her side throughout this ordeal, and with whom she is now creating a line of crocheted sweaters.
