Nephew Shawn update

Quick background info for those not in the "know".
In June, my 8yo nephew suffered a major brain hemmorage/stroke. It was touch and go for many months, and even now he is a totally different boy. No communication, a lot of screaming/crying, cannot move himself...etc.

It seems that 3 separate Dr's believe that he has an AVM (Arteriovenous malformations). They are generally believed to arise during embryonic or fetal development or soon after birth. They are comprised of snarled tangles of arteries and veins. Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood away from the heart to the body’s cells; veins return oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs and heart. The presence of an AVM disrupts this vital cyclical process. Although AVMs can develop in many different sites, those located in the brain or spinal cord—the two parts of the central nervous system—can have especially widespread effects on the body.

In a nutshell, this tangled web of arteries/veins weaken and then burst if not caught and treated. This malformation is very rare, so there are not a lot of Dr's who specialize in removing them. Plus, the location of Shawn's AVM is in the very middle of his brain - an extremely difficult area to get to anyways. Shawn's neurologists are looking for a surgeon which specialized in AVM's to review his MRI's and hopefully get this removed.

Removal will not restore Shawn to his old self, or even make him better than what he is now. BUT, it will remove the risk of having another weakened vessel burst and have even more damage or death occur. Shawn is lucky - 15-20% of people die when they have a brain AVM burst. He was close to it for a long time, but he beat the odds.