‘General Hospital’ Star Returns Following Hiatus for Medical Reason

Kirsten Storms has made her grand return to General Hospital after a six-month hiatus prompted by a brain aneurysm diagnosis.

The actress, who plays Maxie Jones on the ABC soap opera, returned to her role on Thursday after previously announcing her leave of absence in July.

Maxie woke up from her lengthy coma during Thursday’s episode of General Hospital, surprising her son James (Gary James Fuller), daughter Georgie (Lily Fisher) and mother Felicia (Kristina Wagner) in the doorway in a surprising and heartfelt moment.

Storms, 41, first went under the knife in June 2021, when she had surgery to remove a “very large cyst” in her brain that was causing her pain. In January 2025, a follow-up exam revealed that she had an aneurysm on the right side of her brain. While doctors attempted to thread a camera up from her leg into her brain to coil the aneurysm without having to go in through the skull, they were ultimately unsuccessful.

In December, the Zenon actress took to Instagram to share the latest on her aneurysm as she hinted at a possible return to General Hospital.

“My last appointment was with a new Neurosurgeon in St Louis. He told me that I am in the ‘gray zone’ for the aneurysm procedure. It’s not super small, but it’s not at the mandatory surgery size,” she wrote. “Basically, I can keep monitoring it – or have the coiling done, BUT he told me I wasn’t in immediate/’OMG! it’s going to burst tomorrow!’ kind of danger. Obvi, great news.”

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Storms wrote that she was “trying to see if I’m comfortable with the ‘wait and see if it gets worse’ plan,” adding, “I do know that I am not eager to hop right on the operating table. (Plz refer to my post in 2021, following my craniotomy. The pic of the back of my head will possibly convey why this topic is a little difficult for me to openly discuss. And of course there was that surgery back in Jan this year).”

“So as I sit in this ‘gray zone’, pondering my plan, I want you guys to know that I really do appreciate the messages and stories offered of your own experiences,” she continued, concluding with tease for her General Hospital fans, “and maaaaybe you will be seeing me back in Port Charles soon.”