Archive · 4 Aug 2025
Healthy Woman's Headaches Lead to Rare Brain Diagnosis
A woman, who always seemed healthy, had bad headaches that doctors thought were from stress.
But it turned out she had a rare problem in her brain called an AVM, like a tangled mess of blood vessels.
This caused her to have a stroke while exercising, leading to paralysis.
The doctors missed the problem earlier.
Now she's recovering but can't do the things she used to, like sports and walking her dog.
A fit, healthy woman developed paralysis due to an undiagnosed brain condition.
She suffered from headaches and fatigue, initially dismissed as stress or migraines.
The woman had a stroke while playing tennis, caused by a ruptured arteriovenous malformation (AVM).
The AVM, a tangle of blood vessels, disrupted normal blood flow in her brain.
She is recovering from the stroke but struggles with life changes caused by the condition.
- Who
- Alicja Faryniarz, a 44-year-old woman.
- What
- A woman was diagnosed with a brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) after experiencing headaches, fatigue and a stroke.
- When
- The woman began experiencing headaches in her 20s and had a stroke last year.
- Where
- The events took place in an unspecified location.
- Why
- The woman's AVM ruptured, causing a stroke and paralysis.
Patient Perspective
Medical Perspective
Delayed diagnosis
Patient Perspective
The woman believes that if doctors had properly diagnosed the condition earlier through CT scans, the stroke could have been prevented, and her life wouldn't have changed as drastically.
Medical Perspective
Doctors initially misdiagnosed the woman's headaches and fatigue as stress or migraines, leading to a delayed diagnosis of her condition.
- Patient's Age
- 44
- Initial Symptoms
- Headaches and fatigue
- Initial Diagnoses
- Migraines or sinus problems
- Final Diagnosis
- Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM)
- Major Event
- Stroke
- Stroke Trigger
- Playing tennis
- Effect of the stroke
- Paralysis on the right side of the body