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On April 22, 2015, our lives were turned upside down, when my sister Amber was found unresponsive. Amber had suffered a massive brain hemorrhage due to a rupture of an AVM. She was flown by Arch helicopter to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis where she spent a total of 40 days. While in the ICU, they performed several life saving procedures to control the bleed, drain the blood, and relieve the pressure off of her brain. While in the hospital, the Doctors also found two other aneurisms which were treated with a coiling procedure. Although Amber made a great recovery with only vision and memory deficits, she is not cured.
Amber was born with an AVM in her brain that can cause a hemorrhage at any time and without warning. A brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM), is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. A brain AVM contains abnormal and, therefore, “weakened” blood vessels that direct blood away from normal brain tissue. These abnormal and weak blood vessels dilate over time. Eventually they may burst from the high pressure of blood flow from the arteries, causing bleeding into the brain. Brain AVMs are rare and affect less than 1 percent of the population.
Thankfully, there may be a solution to this rare and frightening disorder. The neurologists at Barnes Hospital believe that with a Gamma Knife procedure, they may be able to shrink the AVM (and hopefully dissolve it completely) with radiation. This could be the answer to our prayers! Because of the risk of swelling and damage, they will treat this slowly and in sections over many months to many years.
Amber is fortunate to have health insurance, but as we all know, they don’t cover everything and have high deductibles. Amber was left with a lot of medical expenses with MANY more to come.
PLEASE help our family relieve some of the financial stress off of Amber by donating to her fund. In her situation, stress can only make her condition worse. No amount is too small, it all helps!!!
We thank you in advance for your generosity!
Amber was born with an AVM in her brain that can cause a hemorrhage at any time and without warning. A brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM), is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. A brain AVM contains abnormal and, therefore, “weakened” blood vessels that direct blood away from normal brain tissue. These abnormal and weak blood vessels dilate over time. Eventually they may burst from the high pressure of blood flow from the arteries, causing bleeding into the brain. Brain AVMs are rare and affect less than 1 percent of the population.
Thankfully, there may be a solution to this rare and frightening disorder. The neurologists at Barnes Hospital believe that with a Gamma Knife procedure, they may be able to shrink the AVM (and hopefully dissolve it completely) with radiation. This could be the answer to our prayers! Because of the risk of swelling and damage, they will treat this slowly and in sections over many months to many years.
Amber is fortunate to have health insurance, but as we all know, they don’t cover everything and have high deductibles. Amber was left with a lot of medical expenses with MANY more to come.
PLEASE help our family relieve some of the financial stress off of Amber by donating to her fund. In her situation, stress can only make her condition worse. No amount is too small, it all helps!!!
We thank you in advance for your generosity!