Stroke 101

Did you have any previous knowledge of what an AVM is? When did you find out what it was?

No, I had no previous knowledge of what an AVM was. This first happened when I was 18 and in high school. It was April 18th, and I was just goofing off in class with a few friends. I was in theater class and my teacher was running late. My friend pulled me off the stage. I hit my head on the back of the stage, then fell 4 ft and my head broke my fall. I don't remember whether I blacked out or not. I was so embarrassed, I got up, and I went to the nurse's office. Once I got to her office, she ran a few tests and called it good. I went back to class and just went about my normal day. I remember telling my mom that I hit my head, but it was nothing unusual considering I ride horses and would get thrown off occasionally. I woke up the next morning and slammed myself into a door. That was when I realized that something was seriously wrong. So, we went to the closest hospital, Sedona Hospital. They don't even do MRIs just CT scans, because they're so small. Once they saw that I had something in my brain they rushed me off to Flagstaff Medical Center. Flagstaff Medical Center did an MRI and said “I have no idea why they sent you here, you need to go down to Phoenix”. So, I went to Barrow Neurological Institute. That is when I discovered I had an Arterio-Venous Malformation with three brain aneurysms. Only 18 in 100,000 people have them and I am one of those people.

Flash forward 4 years, and I had some symptoms. I was very irritable, my hand would go numb, I would get pain running down my arm, my eyelashes were pin straight on the right side, etc. I was having these symptoms for a few months leading up to my brain bleed. It was May 30th of 2021 when my brain exploded.

This past time you were in the hospital, for how long were you hospitalized or in rehab?

I was in the hospital for about a month, and I was in inpatient rehab for about 3 weeks. In the hospital I was in ICU - Intensive Care Unit. I don't remember a thing. I know this is where they did my Craniotomy (A.K.A. brain surgery), my MRIs, and my Angiograms. Inpatient Rehab was in the same building, just down a few floors. I remember the kind nurses. I remember them coming in the morning and seeing that I had peed the bed because I didn't know how to ask for help with my aphasia. I did Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy. I was itching to get out of there, and I finally did! But, it was very difficult for me to be doing outpatient rehab down in Phoenix. My parents would have to drive me all the way down to Phoenix from Sedona which was about 2 hours, then they would have to drive me back home which was another 2 hours. I did it for about 2 weeks, 4 days a week, and I could no longer do it. It was draining me. So, that was when I found Entire Care.

Entire Care was my holy grail. There were days when I would show up, I would not want to do anything, and somehow I would leave feeling regenerated. It felt good to get my body moving. I’m so thankful to Entire Care, so thankful.

When you had the first symptoms, did you immediately realize what was happening?

No, I didn't realize what was happening. There were months that went by when I was angry, sad, and just not myself. I did not realize what was happening to me. I thought that I just needed to get out of my house, which I was planning to do when I went to law school.

I was working at Verde Valley School when my stroke happened due to my AVM. It was graduation, I was working to get everything ready and done. It was about 4:50 p.m. and the graduation was starting at 5:00 p.m. I didn't feel good all day but suddenly my arm and my entire right side went numb. I got an excruciating headache, and I knew that something was wrong. I went and told my best friend Galen, and she knew exactly what was wrong, like really knew. I don't remember anything that happened after that for a month.

Has your life changed after the stroke?

My life has completely flipped upside down after the stroke. I don't want to do anything I was planning on doing with my degree in Forensic Psychology and a law degree. I know that I want to help people - people who are in a tough spot, who have had strokes, who have AVMs, and much more. I'm outside hiking, I'm volunteering at the Sedona Heritage Museum, I'm doing yoga, etc. I am happy that my life changed after the stroke. It is much simpler now. It's not all this hustle and bustle, this go-go-go that I was chasing.

I want to have a non-profit called “Living With An AVM”, where many people, like me, can come and relax, have meditation sessions, and have healing treatments. I think it will be extraordinary.

Recovery is physical but also psychological, has your way of thinking changed a lot?

Yes, my way of thinking has changed immensely. We need to live life, and we need to live it to the fullest. You never know when someone you love is going to pass away, when you're going to break up with your boyfriend, when your dog is going to die - the moral of the story is you need to live life like no one is watching. Which I know is so cliche, but it's seriously true. Stay true to yourself! <3