LIBERTY, Mo. -- A school nurse is credited with saving a student's life when she followed her instincts, KMBC's Jim Flink reported Friday.

Liberty High School nurse Michele Kist said a student came into her office last week with a headache, but it turned out to be a brain aneurysm.

"The student articulated to me that he had a very severe headache," Kist said.

She said she had a hunch that something else was wrong, and she was right, Flink reported.

"The aneurysm was the size of the student's pinky finger, which is very unusual. Normally, they're stringy and small. I just can't imagine how this student had something that size and it didn't burst," Health Services coordinator Kathy Ellermeier said.

She said school nurses diagnose all kinds of problems, and they don't have doctors or high-tech equipment as backup.

"Their assessment skills have to be top-notch because they're in a situation where they have to be by themselves," Ellermeier said.

"We take care of the most precious commodity every parent has, and that's their children," Kist said.

The family of the student with the aneurysm did not want to comment.