SAN ANTONIO — Running in the New York City marathon.
That was at the top of one San Antonio woman's bucket list. She earned her bib in 2019.
That same year, tragedy struck. She had her first brain aneurysm.
While many survivors may have given up that dream, for 60-year-old Felicitas Perez, that wasn't an option.
Perez hasn't done an official count yet, but she's confident that she's crossed dozens of finish lines throughout her life.
"It's gotta be over 20," she thought. "5K's, full marathons, half marathons, and I did one 50K."
Sunday, Nov. 5, Perez may have conquered her most significant finish line yet.
In 2019, Perez earned her bib for the New York City marathon.
"That's when my first brain rupture happened," she explained.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke describes a brain aneurysm as a weak spot on an artery that fills with blood. A rupture can cause a stroke, brain damage, coma and even death.
About 20% of patients with brain aneurysms have more than one.
"In 2020, I started to notice some changes in my face...particularly in my eye," Perez explained. "My left eye started to droop and my left side of my face started to droop. It was like Bell's Palsy."
At one point, doctors thought Perez had a tumor in her eye.
It was another aneurysm.
In 2021, Perez decided to undergo a craniotomy.
"They actually split your head open and go into the brain," she said. "[It] did a lot of damage to my nerves in my eye, so I have a paralytic eye on my left side. I do see from my eye, but it is paralyzed and it does droop."
It took Perez nine months to walk on her own again. Her late sister was by her side the entire time.
During her recovery, she received an e-mail from the Big Apple.
"From the New York Roadrunners that I still had my bib," she said, laughing.
Following three brain aneurysms, three brain surgeries and two brain ruptures, Perez still wished to fulfill her dream.
So she asked her neurosurgeon if she could train for the marathon.
"He said, 'I normally would not let any of my patients do that, but considering everything that you have survived, I'm going to let you do it,'" said Perez.
Doctors told her, with restrictions, she could train for the 2023 New York City Marathon.
For Perez, it wouldn't be just another 26.2-mile run.
"It was a run that I had dedicated in my heart for all brain aneurysm heroes," she said.
Sunday, Perez laced up her shoes and ran in the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon.
"At mile 16, I just felt very tired," Perez recalled. "Then about mile 17, mile 18, my whole left side just went limp. I was like, 'Oh my God.'"
Perez refused the medical help, with her heart set on finishing the race.
In 10 hours and 12 minutes, Perez crossed the finish line as the last runner in the New York City Marathon.
"The girl that was with me was like, 'This is for you. This is all for you. They're here for you!'"
Perez knows she's in store for a lifetime of recovery.
She hopes by sharing her story, it will raise awareness about how often a brain aneurysm is misdiagnosed.
She encourages others to give to the Joe Niekro Foundation to help patients who can't afford treatment.
"You're never alone," said Perez. "Never give up hope on your dream...If I'm last, what does it matter? Somebody has got to be last, right?"