If you're as fortunate as we are, you've had the pleasure of crossing paths with Ravanh Khamvong. She was a loving daughter, a caring mother, a one of a kind sister, an amazing aunt to her nieces and an extraordinary friend. She was a woman poised to make the world a better place. Ravanh’s contagious laugh had the power to light up any room, and she was someone you’d want to spend countless hours with. She was a selfless, talented, courageous, and compassionate individual.

 

Many of you have been following Ravanh’s journey when she found out about her brain AVM. AVM stands for Arteriovenous Malformation, which is a tangle of abnormal and poorly formed blood vessels, affecting the arteries and veins. Sadly AVMS are very high risk, with them bleeding significantly more than normal vessels. AVMs can occur anywhere in the body, however brain AVMs are of special concern, because of the damage they can cause when they bleed.

 

Ravanh had two choices.. She could either monitor the AVM every year for the rest of her life and pray that it doesn’t burst or choose to remove it. The courageous Ravanh chose the latter. She was a fighter and didn’t want to live with an uncertain future and so it was imperative for her to have it removed.

 

Ravanh had two back to back procedures on the 29th and 30th. As we have learned throughout this journey things can change dramatically in an instant - which has happened in Ravanh’s case. While the neurosurgeon said the surgery itself was successful, she had significant bleeding during surgery and required 11 bags of blood transfusions to replace what was lost in surgery.

 

During a routine neurological exam, they noticed that she had no movement in her pupils and sent her in for an emergency CT scan. The findings showed bleeding in her brain stem which controls all vital functions. Ultimately, we were told by her medical team there was no chance that she would recover in any meaningful way.

 

As you can imagine, this was heartbreaking as we had so much hope that she could recover. I know many of you have also shared that hope with her family over the last week as well.

 

On January 3rd, Ravanh was officially declared brain dead and a few hours later went to heaven surrounded by her family. She left behind her three daughters: Nona - 24 years old, Stella - 18 years old and Taya -15 years old along with her mom, brother, sister, fiance, sister in law, and nieces.

 

We’ve started a GoFundMe and all funds will go to her mom and daughters to help with the funeral service cost and any future financial burdens. Please do not feel any amount is too small; all donations are sincerely appreciated during this time as the family navigates this next phase.

 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity, love, prayers and support.