A Song of the Past

Tara Sidhoo Fraser was born with a blood vessel condition known as an arteriovenous malformation. An AVM causes groups of blood vessels to become unusually interwoven, bypassing normal tissue and forming direct connections with each other. Most AVMs exhibit no obvious symptoms; they are like ticking time bombs in the body, waiting to explode. Typically they come to light in one of three ways: they are accidentally found when treating another, unrelated condition; the bomb goes off, the blood vessels burst, and subsequent medical attention is required; or they’re found after death, during an autopsy.

Fraser’s AVM is in her brain, and it is large, covering the area from her left thalamus in the middle down to her brain stem. Brain AVMs are uncommon, occurring in less than 1 percent of the population. Bleeds from brain AVMs are also uncommon — seen in approximately 1 to 3 percent of all brain AVMs each year. Fraser’s AVM caused a hemorrhagic stroke, resulting in an...