A 23-year-old mother-of-one was left unable to make a sound for two years after suffering a massive brain bleed at work.
Megan Guerra, now 28 and from Austin, Texas, was fit and healthy and worked as a skincare specialist at a clinic in the city.
But when she lay down to try a facial in 2017, she suddenly felt an intense pain in her head before her vision went black.
Ms Guerra was rushed to hospital where doctors diagnosed her with a rupture to an abnormal mass of blood vessels in the brain — called an arteriovenous malformation — with the mass likely having been there since birth.
The rupture had sparked a massive brain bleed, they said, leading to a stroke in the part of her brain responsible for controlling breathing, heart rate, swallowing, blood pressure and consciousness.
Megan Guerra, now 28 and from Austin, Texas, was left in a coma for three months after suffering a massive brain bleed
The mother-of-one is pictured above in the hospital and during her recovery where she gradually learned to reuse her limbs
Ms Guerra said her biggest motivation was her daughter Taylor, now 10 (shown right on her birthday), saying that she ‘needs me to be her mom again’
Ms Guerra spent three months in a coma in the hospital during which time her fiancee and family were warned repeatedly that she may not survive.
But after receiving drugs to stimulate her central nervous system the mother woke back up.
She was fully paralyzed and needed to spend 14 months at a clinic to regain the ability to move and talk.
Family members said that she first regained strength in her fingers and toes, before her feet and hands, then limbs, and, finally, in the core area of her body.
Doctors also diagnosed her with vocal cord paralysis and warned that she would never be able to speak or eat normally again.
But two years after the brain bleed and with repeated classes, she has also regained this ability.
Currently, Ms Guerra says she is able to move her left side better than her right — and stand again. She can also speak again, although still struggles with some sounds.
Her daughter Taylor, now aged 10, was the main motivation for her recovery, with the mother saying that Taylor ‘needs me to be her mom again’.
An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a rare condition, with fewer than one in 100,000 people in the United States thought to be sufferers.
It is when a group of blood vessels forms incorrectly in the womb or shortly after birth, leading to a tangle bypassing normal tissue that is prone to rupture.
Patients can live for decades without having the condition diagnosed until they face a sudden and unexpected brain bleed.
Doctors may treat the condition via surgery or embolization when a substance is injected into the arteries and veins in the tangle to block them off.
Ms Guerra’s case had not been previously detected and doctors said that, even if it had been, it was in the wrong place to be operated on.
Revealing the day the brain bleed happened, she said: ‘I had just removed my makeup and the skin aesthetician was going to try out our new oxygen facial machine on me.
‘[But] 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”.
Ms Guerra is pictured above celebrating her birthday in Austin, Texas
She was discharged from rehabilitation after 14 months when she said the time had come to return home again
‘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.’
Ms Guerra said her vision then went black and she urged her co-worker to quickly call an ambulance.
‘This is where my memory starts to fail me,’ she said.
She began by learning to move her toes and fingers again before moving on to her limbs. She is shown above learning to use the piano
‘I knew I could not see and I was terrified and crying. I heard a man say something reassuring.
‘I can only assume it was something like “Don’t worry, we’ve got you” or “You’re gonna be okay”.
‘I remember thinking: “That’s sweet…he thinks he can help me. Little does he know I’m about to die”.’
While she was in a coma doctors gave her modafinil, brand name Provigil, every six to eight hours to help stimulate her central nervous system and promote wakefulness.
She had a rash appear on her face at this time, which it later emerged was because she was allergic to the medication.
But it worked, with the patient waking up from her coma three months later.
She was then discharged to an Acute Rehab and Long Term Acute care facility in Dallas where she spent four months working to regain her strength.
She would undergo 40 hours of therapy every week, before declaring that it was time for her to come home.
In 2020, her family said in a GoFundMe that she had been working on learning how to put contacts back in, get in and out of bed safely and stand on her own without assistance.
Ms Guerra pictured during her recovery from the massive brain bleed
Currently, she says her left side is not as stiff as her right as she continues to make a recovery. She is also able to speak again, but still needs help with some sounds
Her recovery continued at home, with Ms Guerra working to regain the ability to speak and swallow.
Talking about her motivation, she 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 percent. 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 percent, surrounded by people who love and support me.’
Megan also offered a message for others going through similar hardships. ‘You can do anything and create the life you want,’ she said.
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