I am a young woman who had my first pontine stroke at 23 and my second at 31, and survived to tell my story. It is very rare to survive two strokes in the pons, and to survive requires the fight of a warrior. After my first stroke, I was diagnosed with a brainstem arteriovenous malformation (AVM). It is unclear how often an AVM will bleed. I've heard every eight years. The risk of bleeding climbs by 2% each year, and there is a 1% chance every year that it will bleed. I knew I would have a secon
