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“I got a second chance at life — I want to take full advantage of that,” says Sabirah Burt, 19
NEED TO KNOW
- Sabirah Burt survived two brain surgeries after suffering a ruptured aneurysm at 18 and is now pursuing a medical career
- She recently shadowed her neurosurgeon, Dr. Mohamed Habib — even observing a procedure on a brain aneurysm patient
- Burt plans to apply to medical school with support from her surgeon and her family
In 2025, the summer after her freshman year of college, Sabirah Burt was struck by a sudden, crushing headache. Doctors discovered the 18-year-old had two aneurysms in her brain and performed two separate surgeries to treat them. This summer, one year after her first surgery, she shadowed the brain surgeon who saved her life, Dr. Mohamed Labib at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Burt even observed a surgery on a brain aneurysm patient like her. Now 19, she plans to apply to medical school with Labib’s encouragement. “She’s smart and personable and has a very calm demeanor,” he tells PEOPLE. “I would love to have her as a resident.”
Burt shares her story in her own words with PEOPLE’s Wendy Grossman Kantor.
On June 25, 2025, I was at my oldest sister’s apartment lifting weights. After finishing my set of bench presses, I started feeling this immense headache. I was like, “Maybe I’m just dehydrated.”
I decided to take a break and sat on the bed. When I laid down, the headache was fine, but when I sat up, the headache got worse. I started vomiting.
After I vomited three times, I was like, “Something’s really wrong.”
My neck was stiff. I was sensitive to light. I couldn’t even walk straight. My brother-in-law drove me home. It’s only a six-minute drive, but it was difficult to stay conscious.
When I opened the door, my mom said, “What’s wrong?” I couldn’t even speak. I walked upstairs to my room to lay down. Then I started throwing up again.
My mom, Salma Burt, is a nurse, an LPN. At first she thought it was a stomach bug. But when the vomiting seemed to be getting worse, she and my dad decided to take me to the emergency room.
We drove to the University of Maryland Capital Region Health at Laurel around 9 p.m. I was admitted 30 minutes later.
After a CT scan, the doctor said, “I see something, but we need more scans.” He said they were transferring me to another hospital, 15 miles away, for more tests.
At the second hospital, UM Capital Region Health Medical Group at Largo, doctors said I needed an angiogram with dye, which would determine if my brain was bleeding and help discover the source of my headache.
I was really scared. I’m a brave person and I have a high pain tolerance, and I like to put a smile on my face, but I was afraid.
My mom was there the entire time. She said, “It’s going to be okay. Don’t worry, watch some TV, take some deep breaths, calm down and have faith.” Because I’m Muslim, she played a recitation of the Quran, our holy book.
Later, I got the angiogram results. I remember the sad look on the doctor’s face when he told me: “Unfortunately, there is bleeding in your brain.”
The doctor said I was going to be transferred to the University of Maryland Medical Center in downtown Baltimore to perform “open brain surgery.” Hearing those three words, I was in shock.
I started bawling my eyes out. The doctor was like, “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”
The doctors told me there were two bleeds in my brain, and they were hoping to get me to the hospital before there was a third, which would be extremely dangerous. My mom rode with me the 40 miles in a critical care ambulance.
When I got to the hospital, they immediately started prepping me for surgery.
They told me all the risks of surgery for a ruptured aneurysm. The only one I remember was “death.”
I told myself to stand tall: If that was going to be my last moment, I was going out with a smile. They let me say goodbye to my mom. It was really quick and they were trying to rush me. I don’t blame them at all — they were trying to save my life.
At the second hospital, UM Capital Region Health Medical Group at Largo, doctors said I needed an angiogram with dye, which would determine if my brain was bleeding and help discover the source of my headache.
I was really scared. I’m a brave person and I have a high pain tolerance, and I like to put a smile on my face, but I was afraid.
My mom was there the entire time. She said, “It’s going to be okay. Don’t worry, watch some TV, take some deep breaths, calm down and have faith.” Because I’m Muslim, she played a recitation of the Quran, our holy book.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Mohamed Labib at 9 p.m. on June 26, 2025, about 24 hours after the sudden headache started.
When I woke up from surgery, I had a tube in my neck and a tube in my head draining out excess blood. I was in the neuro ICU for almost two weeks. Friends and family came from all over the country to visit. I felt so loved.
I went home from the hospital on July 9, 2025. The pain was bad. It was a sharp pain near the temples to the top of my head. I slept a lot the first two weeks I was home. But after I got my stitches out, I did go to a friend’s graduation party.
In the fall, I started my sophomore year at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. Doctors said I had a second aneurysm that hadn’t ruptured, but was at risk of rupturing. I scheduled my second brain surgery— this time elective — with Dr. Labib for December over winter break so I didn’t miss school.
It was less scary when I went to the hospital for the second brain surgery, because I knew what to expect. Everyone was more calm. It wasn’t an emergency.
But afterward, I was in agonizing pain — I couldn’t even sit down to close my eyes. It was headaches throughout the entirety of my head. The recovery was 100 times worse than my first brain surgery.
My spirits were low because I was in so much pain. But I told myself, “I have to be strong.”
I was only in the hospital for three days but I had to go back to the ER a few days later because the pain was so bad.
At my follow-up appointment in February, Dr. Labib asked me what I wanted to do after college. I told him I wanted to be a physician’s assistant. He encouraged me to consider becoming a physician because there aren’t enough Black women doctors. Then, he offered me an amazing opportunity: He invited me to shadow him for the month of June.
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It was incredible. I loved putting on scrubs and my surgical mask and being in the operating room. I followed Dr. Labib around the hospital. He introduced me to everyone. I felt like a colleague — I don’t want to say equal, because obviously I’m not a doctor — but I felt I was seen and heard and acknowledged. I’m so grateful for that.
One day, he was called to the hospital for an emergency procedure on a ruptured aneurysm. He asked if I wanted to watch. “I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, yes! It’s literally me.’ “
It was my white-coat moment. I knew then that I wanted to go into medicine.
In June, I was accepted to the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). This fall I will start my junior year studying public health.
I plan to apply to both physician’s assistant graduate school and medical school. Whichever I get into will decide my path.
Having two brain surgeries really changed my perspective on things. I used to be so hard on myself. I have more patience with myself now.
I got a second chance at life. I want to take full advantage of that.
A GoFundMe has been established to help her pursue her healthcare studies.
Read the original article on People
