Plagued with a persistent headache, Alan Milne did what any forward-thinking person might do – he typed his symptoms into AI super brain ChatGPT.
But while some experts – including one of AI’s inventors – predict the technology will eventually replace a multitude of jobs, Alan’s experience last month suggests doctors have nothing to fear.
Because as the Buckie man later found out, what ChatGPT diagnosed as a migraine was in fact a brain hemorrhage.
“It does warn you not to trust its advice,” Alan says with deep understatement. “I think it’s important to follow that warning.”
Fortunately, the 48-year-old Aberdeen distillery owner eventually called NHS Direct, and he went to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for a CT scan.
Doctors soon discovered the truth of Alan’s sore head – it was the result of a hemorrhage, or brain bleed. Blood had burst from a weakened artery and was flowing around the cranium.
It is an extremely serious condition, and because of the risk of the blood irritating other arteries could result in brain damage if left unchecked.
“I should have got the treatment earlier, that’s my only regret,” says Alan. It was about a week between him first noticing the sore head and going to hospital.
“If someone has a headache and it goes on for more than a few days, then something’s not right there.”
Back to work at Aberdeen distillery after brain hemorrhage
It is just over a month since Alan went for his scan at ARI.
But amazingly, he is already back at work at the City of Aberdeen Distillery, a gin school and spirits still on Palmerston Road he co-founded with partner Dan Barnett.
The pair knows just how lucky Alan is to be on the mend with his brain functions intact.
Only 40% of people that suffer a brain hemorrhage survive beyond the first month, while about a third are left with a disability.
“It was a relief to know he still remembers me,” says Dan, who met Alan 23 years ago at university.
What’s even more amazing about Alan’s story is that this is not his first brain hemorrhage. He had one 25 years ago when he was just 23.
In fact, one of the reasons he left it so late to contact NHS Direct was because doctors had told him the chance of having another hemorrhage was extremely small.
But the doctors are taking no more chances. Alan will have regular scans to catch any future bleeds before they happen.
“If I’ve got a propensity for them, I’d rather pick them up early and have a couple of days of discomfort than go through the whole routine,” he says.
“I mean, these things are nasty. They can carry you off very quickly. I’ve been incredibly lucky.”
What a difference 25 years makes in brain surgery
Alan’s luck is such that he’s considering spending big on lottery tickets.
But he also knows modern technology played a part in his survival, and especially his rapid recovery.
When he had his first brain bleed a quarter of a century ago, he underwent highly invasive cranial surgery.
This time, doctors fed their instruments through a hole in his wrist and up an artery in his arm.
The difference is astounding – while his first surgery left Alan with titanium bolts and a large scar on his head, the only evidence of the one six weeks ago is a small hole in his wrist.
“It took me about seven months to recover from the one 25 years ago, and I would probably say I’m at month five now already,” he says.
A speedy recovery from brain surgery for Aberdeen distiller
Alan was back at work this week, getting ready for another summer at the gin school he and Dan started in 2019.
Alan leads the gin-making masterclasses the City of Aberdeen Distillery runs on a regular basis, and helps Dan oversee spirits production and sales of their gins and vodkas.
The return to normal is a huge relief to Dan, who shut up shop when Alan went into hospital.
The past weeks have been a roller-coaster of emotions for the 41-year-old Mancunian.
His worst moment was in the early hours of the morning, not long after Alan was admitted to ARI.
Dan had returned home to pick up supplies. He was all set to go back to hospital in the morning when a message came through that Alan was being transferred to Edinburgh for his operation.
“I thought, well, he’s probably going to go to his operation before I get down to give him the stuff in the morning,” says Dan, who immediately took a taxi to the hospital.
“So literally at two o’clock at night, it was like this could be it, this could be the last time I see him.”
‘I don’t have the words how grateful I am’
The final word goes to Alan, who is looking forward to welcoming in new customers from the new cruise ships set to visit Aberdeen this summer.
“I don’t have the words how grateful I am that we’ve got such an amazing NHS,” Alan says. “I’m delighted.”
Book a City of Aberdeen Distillery gin masterclass or browse its spirits listings here.