I know this may sound crazy but I think my AVM bleed was one of the best thing that ever happened to me. My bleed was in Aug 2006. After an embolization, radiation and hours and hours of therapy (I still have short-term memory problems) my AVM bleed has changed my life for the better.
Let me explain, I don’t take things for granted anymore. I tell my wife I love her all the time (bleed happened 2 weeks after honeymoon), I try to help her all the time because I know the extra stress my memory problem puts on her, I now call and visit friends in the hospital I don’t put it off and never get around to it. It has brought me closer to The Lord. These are just a few things off the top of my head.
I write this so maybe someone who is down and out will look for the positives. Go Saints!
Greg,
I am in complete aggreement with you about your AVM being a blessing. Mine allowed me to recognize that life is a gift and can be taken away at any moment. There are things I used to focus on that are only material and I’m focusing on the inner me now. I used to have a strained relationship with my mother, but when she found out I’d been hospitalized when mine bled (this is how mine was discovered), she was at my side and ready to help. All that had plagued our relationship before was irrelevant. God has a plan for us all and He’s chosen a select few of us for these extraordinary AVM’s so that hopefully our strength may inspire others. Take care and I wish you and your family the best.
Jessica
Greg your post is so very on target , a true and heart touching fact that people and life are precious .
You also touched my funny bone with the " Go Saints " at the end .
Be good to you . Take care of you .
Greg Z, thanks for putting this positive spin on this. Many of us would agree with you, but many who are just diagnosed or just bled don’t (yet) see how this is possible. Yet. Go Saints too.
Through having an AVM and discovering this website, I have been blessed with a great circle of friends that I never would have known, and I count you among them.
I definately agree with you Greg. Having an AVM bleed can change your life. But wasn’t it worth it? Now I look at things a whole lot different, and appreciate life more.