Ambassador for The Aneurysm & AVM Foundation

"We're thrilled to welcome AVM advocate, Angel Gail, as our first Awareness Ambassador for The Aneurysm and AVM Foundation."

- The Aneurysm and AVM Foundation

It is my absolute joy to join and represent TAAF as an ambassador. After watching my little brother, Preston, fight for his life without a single complaint and with a smile on his face, I gained a passion to advocate for him and others just like him. Many people have never heard of an AVM, and for good reason, they are rare. While they do occur in approximately less than 1% of the U.S. population, I believe TAAF says its best in,"It's Only RARE Until it Happens to YOU."

The cutting-edge research available was a key proponent in shrinking Preston’s AVM to an operable size. Research donations, however, can be difficult to come by, and many rare diseases get left behind. The Aneurysm & AVM Foundation is a beacon of hope for this community as it joins together AVM warriors and their families, all while fundraising for such necessary research and so much more.

It is as real for me today as the day Preston’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Valle, told my family Preston had a chance at life. My parents and I circled Preston around his hospital bed, and Dr. Valle stood at the foot of the bed next to a monitor that displayed his latest scans. I was exhausted having just arrived from Mississippi State University, as I was a freshman, but had made it to him just in time. Literally. My dad and I were actually in line to get supper at the hospital cafeteria when my mom called saying Dr. Valle was in Preston’s room. Racing up the hospital stairs to the fourth floor (the elevators had a line and were slow) to reach his room in time to hear for ourselves the new status of Preston's case. At this point, it felt like Preston had been in the hospital for months, when in reality, it was only approaching the one-month marker. Completely winded we arrived at the Pediatric Intense Care floor and hurried to be let in by a nurse.

So, there we were, surrounding Preston and holding onto every word Dr. Valle provided. It was all any of us cared about. That’s when Dr. Valle shared that Preston had a chance at life. Words we feared we may never hear. By a true miracle of God and through the angiograms/embolizations, the AVM had been shrunk from a Grade 5 to a Grade 4. My mom and I unable to contain our joy cried happy tears. The first in Preston’s journey. As we both scrambled for one of Preston’s hands to hold, Dr. Valle gave us the grace to let that happy moment live before telling us how he could do it. Which was a long and honestly scary feat. But that moment. That’s one I hold dear. From the very first night after Preston’s AVM had been discovered at our local hospital, from an MRI that prompted his ambulance ride to Ochsner Medical Center, it had always been this undefeatable thing. The AVM was inoperable, and there were zero alternatives.

Research. It is such a key proponent to furthering the quality and future for the AVM community. The more exposure and development in research for these diseases result, I believe, in moments just like this one. Today is just the beginning of what will be my core purpose. Reaching, educating, advocating, and fundraising for this disease, for Preston. For AVM warriors. For families. I am truly honored to represent my brother and all warriors in the greater brain aneurysm and AVM community.

Let’s do this, TAAF!