I had no idea I was critically ill until I laid down for a facial – I was left unable to walk or talk
A MOTHER was left unable to walk or talk after suffering a huge bleed on the brain as she laid down for a facial.
Megan Guerra, 28, from Austin, Texas, had an agonising headache as soon as she reclined back and quickly lost her vision.
She had suffered a bleed from a rare blood vessel deformity in her brain, which was pinching her brain stem.
The former skincare specialist was fit and healthy before the event and had no idea she had the birth defect — but was left in a coma in October, 2017.
She said: “I had just removed my makeup and the skin aesthetician was going to try out our new oxygen facial machine on me.
“As I laid down I got an intense headache. My co-workers immediately sensed my urgency.
“At one point I remember thinking: ‘This is it. I’m gonna die’.
“There was no replay of memories like the movies. I did not think about what I could’ve done better. I was just in blinding pain.”
Her co-worker called the emergency services but by the time they arrived, Megan’s vision had completely gone.
The paramedics tried to reassure her that she would be okay, but she had fallen into a coma once they had got her into the ambulance,.
She was rushed to the hospital where doctors found she had an arteriovenous malformation that had ruptured.
An AVM is an abnormal connection between arteries and vessels that is usually present since birth.
They occur in less than one per cent of Brits and can cause seizures, headaches and problems with speech and sight.
However, 15 per cent of cases don’t cause any symptoms and around half are found from a haemorrhage, like in Megan’s case.
While she was still in a coma, Megan developed a severe rash on her face, and dermatologists and infectious disease doctors from all over the country couldn’t figure out why.
As it turned out, she was allergic to the medication she was being given to stimulate her brain activity.
One of the side effects of this was extreme hallucinations.
After waking from the coma, she was diagnosed with paralysed vocal chords and told that she would never talk or eat again.
Megan couldn’t verbally communicate for over two years but she found her voice again in 2020.
And after over five years of intense physical, occupational, and speech therapy, she has made a remarkable recovery.
She said her daughter Taylor, 10, who currently lives with her dad and his family, is her motivation.
Megan said: “Currently my left side still moves much easier than my right, but I don’t believe it’ll be like that for long.
“I can pretty much talk, I have speech therapy to help with certain sounds so I’m more intelligible.
“I will be 100 per cent. I said this since I could barely move. My daughter needs me to be her mom again. I’ve never believed something so strongly.
“I’m still the same person and still have my memories — my brain injury did not affect my personality.
“I will continue my journey to 100 per cent, surrounded by people who love and support me.”