General Hospital spoilers and updates reveal Kirsten Storms (Maxie Jones) recently revealed the real reason for her long leave of absence from the ABC soap. Plus, she took the opportunity to announce a new crochet business where she’s teamed up with best friend Emme Rylan (previous Lulu Spencer).
Kirsten Is On A Temporary Leave From The ABC Soap
Kirsten Storms is widely recognized for her long-standing role as Maxie Jones on General Hospital.
Currently, she is on a temporary break from the show because she is moving from Los Angeles to Nashville. While fans can look forward to her returning to the role soon, Storms is enjoying this new phase of her life.
She even announced a cozy sweater collaboration business with her real-life best friend, Emme Rylan—they handle all the crocheting themselves.
However, there is a serious aspect to her time off, beyond just relocating across the country—she is dealing with a health issue that requires attention.
Kirsten Opened Up About Her Health Issues In A Heartfelt Instagram Post
Recently, Kirsten shared a heartfelt post on Instagram, revealing some personal health updates and life news-she mentioned: “In January (2025), I had a new brain scan.
After my surgery in 2021, my wonderful neurosurgeon has been keeping an eye on remaining brain cyst after removing the one that was causing issues.
The January scan was prompted by symptoms that the doctors suspected might be related to my brain.
So, when I was told by the doctors that they discovered an aneurysm on the right side of my brain… well, I basically turned it into a stand-up comedy act. Earlier she mentioned one thing she loved about her neurosurgeon was that he put up with her jokes!
Kirsten Continued Talking About The Procedure
I underwent a procedure that weekend, where the doctor inserted a camera from my leg to my brain (It’s a standard procedure, but the route the camera takes inside your body is wild).
The camera even goes through your armpit, can you believe it-anyway, due to the somewhat complicated situation with the aneurysm (nothing serious, just normal), it wasn’t coiled that weeken.
checked in with my knowledgeable surgeon, finished my next few months at work, began my break, and left California.
Did you all know that Emme was with me every single day during my 2021 craniotomy and recovery in the hospital? Here I am with Emme in St. Louis, we are crocheting beautiful sweaters while my coiling procedure is set for the next two weeks.
Kirsten Talked About How Important Emotional Support Is
She went on: Emotional support is essential during difficult times in life that bring anxiety. Stress can definitely lead to aneurysms, and as for brain cysts, I think that’s also a possibility.
The scan in January revealed a new, albeit tiny, squatter (also known as a cyst) on my brain stem – it became evident I had to make some changes in my life immediately.
One of those changes was leaving LA, and she kept discussing that-for my own personal reasons, it was very important for me to stop living in Los Angeles.
The main reason for the move was Harper Barash (her daughter with ex Brandon Barash), but a lot of it was also about my physical and mental well-being-and my overall happiness.
Crocheting As Therapy
This brings me to my next point… Did you know that while crocheting isn’t “technically” classified as a cognitive behavioral therapy exercise, it meets all the criteria that CBT exercises do?
It’s meditative, your hands and mind are engaged in the same activity, which helps divert your attention from stress or anxiety, and finishing a project gives a sense of accomplishment.
This sweater project with my best friend, who shares my passion for yarn and always supports me… it really feels like we were destined to create this together.
In her caption, Storms mentioned: “I wanted to share this because even though my mind feels like it’s quietly fighting against me, it helps me realize that we all have moments when things aren’t ideal. If possible, we will strive to do what is best for ourselves and our loved ones.”
Kirsten Talks Some More About The Aneurysm And Ugly Fake News
Knowing what an aneurysm is, the scan in January really scared me. A few days after I left the hospital, someone wrote a blog post claiming I was there that weekend because I tried to “unalive” myself.
I couldn’t grasp why someone would fabricate such a horrible story without knowing the truth about my situation; there are definitely some bad people out there. We all recognize that… but I am genuinely grateful for the good people in my life, one of them just made a ton of sweaters with me; they are amazing.
We’re sending our best wishes to Kirsten Storms as she gets ready for her upcoming coiling procedure-we love you, Kirsten—and we’ll support you every step of the way.
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