Four months ago, on February 12, 2026, I experienced the worst headache of my life.
It was a brain hemorrhage.
One of the many aneurysms associated with my AVM had ruptured and was bleeding.
Everything happened very quickly. I was rushed to the hospital, and the following morning I underwent emergency surgery. During the procedure, my AVM was embolized, and 3 of the 5 high-risk aneurysms were successfully coiled and secured.
But the intervention came with a complication: I suffered a stroke.
Looking back, I know how incredibly lucky I was.
I “only” lost mobility on my left side. I didn’t lose my speech. I didn’t lose my memory. I didn’t lose my ability to recognize my loved ones. Many survivors face far greater challenges, and I am deeply grateful for the outcome I had.
That doesn’t mean the journey has been easy.
Over the past four months, I’ve had to relearn how to trust my body. I’ve spent weeks at the hospital, countless hours in rehabilitation, working on movements that once happened automatically. I’ve celebrated small victories that, before all of this, I would never have thought twice about.
Four months later, my recovery is still ongoing. Some days are harder than others. But every step, every improvement, and every milestone is a reminder of how far I’ve come since that morning in February.
To everyone in this community who is navigating life after an AVM, aneurysm rupture, brain hemorrhage, or stroke: thank you for sharing your stories. They have helped me feel less alone during this journey.
And if you’re at the beginning of your recovery, wondering what the future will look like, know this: progress is possible, even when it feels painfully slow.
Four months ago, my life changed forever.
Today, I’m still here, still recovering, and still moving forward.
Pia
Keep going with the recovery, I know there were many times when I went 1 step forward on a Monday and 2 steps back on the Wednesday.
35 years later I can still randomly fall over but that’s just how an avm affects me.
Tim
Pia,
You and Tim and the others here who’ve had to go through a rupture are the real survivors here. I’ve watched a documentary about recovery from stroke and it seems like hard, hard work, but that’s fortunately as close to the hard stuff as I’ve been so far.
Well done you! It’s brilliant to share your progress and keep fighting on! There are often several years worth of good progress to be made, so keep at it!
Lots of love,
Richard
Hi Richard,
Thanks for the documentary recommendation. OMG it shook in ways I can’t explain, and it made me be grateful for my recovery and situation.
Thanks also for the kind words.
And yes I keep fighting for a proper recovery 
That’s so true. There are days where I feel like I am going backwards. And during those, I try to see the good in the small things. Like how good I can grab cup again or do a certain movement that I couldn’t.
And thanks for the kind words
It’s quite a challenging film – I found Richard’s concave skull pre cranioplasty shocking – but when I was in neuro ICU after my embolization, there was a chap with a similarly concave profile so the film helped me to understand him much better. I just think it is an excellent story about recovery – the dire straits we might find ourselves in, the determination and grit shown by Richard to get better, the time it takes and honestly the brilliant recovery that Richard achieved.
The amazing hospital that Gerhard Florschutz was running at the time of the film sadly isn’t operating these days, it seems, which is rather disappointing because it looked ideal.
I’m glad you got something from me sharing it and I hope it gives you good aims to have. I do think determination, hard work and patience is required to make a great recovery. 
Good luck!
Sending you all the very best in your recovery. It sounds like you have done your absolute best to work with the cards you’ve been dealt and that you are continuing to reap the rewards. Sending positive energy your way xx
Hello new friend. Sorry to hear about your situation but grateful to hear you survived. An AVM Rupture carries a 30% chance of death. You are not alone. I have left-sided hemiparesis after my stroke & rupture. My left hand is paralyzed. I had to close my company and declare bankruptcy. It took me two years to re-learn how to walk and the doctors told me I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Work hard at your recovery, especially for the first year. Try to get as much back as you can. I showered by myself for the first time in three years on Sunday. I haven’t fallen for over 6 months
Thank you for sharing your story. Keep going with therapy, it will help a lot. My AVM rupture was in the back of my brain by the cerebellum. It happened in 2003 and I still have a lot of side effects from it. My memories of my entire life were completely wiped out of my memory. Still going and still learning.