October is AVM Awareness Month!

October is AVM Awareness Month & National Employment Disability Month. In the Organization I currently work for I am a member of the Multigenerational Network under Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. I was blessed with an opportunity to write and publish an article to share my story for all employees nationwide on our internal page called T-Nation. It is only rare until it happens to you and we must do our part to spread knowledge. Read a copy below and I encourage you to help me advocate for this rare disease. Individually our voice may be ignored but, together we can be loud & make a difference.

“A champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall” -Serena Williams. 

My name is Mario van der Ree III, proud Market Outreach Specialist, parent, and member of the MGN in Ft. Lauderdale/West Palm Beach, Florida, and Serena’s quote really resonates with me. 

On March 10th, 2018, while cooking breakfast with my wife, I suffered from a hemorrhage stroke, caused by a ruptured AVM I had at birth.  God, along with the Memorial Healthcare system, saved my life and honored me with a second opportunity that I will never take for granted.

I am grateful to have survived and thankful for T-Mobile’s support throughout my 2018-2019 medical journey — and my entire 11-year career since 2009. 

What is an AVM?

A brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. The arteries are responsible for taking oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the brain. Veins carry the oxygen-depleted blood back to the lungs and heart. A brain AVM disrupts this vital process. An arteriovenous malformation can develop anywhere in your body but occurs most often in the brain or spine. Even so, brain AVMs are rare and affect less than 1 percent of the population.

Below is a brief overview, and a strong demonstration of why my passion for the T-Mobile brand will never die.

On March 10th, 2018, my last words to the paramedics before losing consciousness were, “my son is six months old; you must save me!” and as soon as I heard “we got you bud,” the lights shut off.

The bleeding in my brain was larger than the size of an egg. I had an emergency craniotomy, then placed into an induced coma, and my entire family came into town due to the uncertainty of the outcome.

A few days later, when I woke up, my wife brought me up to speed, and it was a difficult pill to swallow because I was a healthy adult. I could not move the left side of my body at all. I was considered a total assist (Total assistance means that staff or another individual performs the entire activity of daily living without participation by the resident).

A few weeks later, I was transferred to the rehabilitation hospital. I was told I might never form connections in my brain again, I may never walk again, and I may never move my left side again. I was asked what my goal was, and I replied, “I am walking out of this hospital.” I was looked at by the staff like I was crazy.

Against all the odds and passion for my son, my wife, family, and career, I walked out of the hospital on my release day. 

My wife was instrumental in my recovery and in keeping our family going. We had a 6-month-old son, and my wife had to stop breastfeeding to take care of my son and me.

I thought my journey was finally over in July, but in August, I was given tough news that the AVM was still there, and I was at high risk. I went for a second opinion and was told surgical removal was the gold standard for a complete cure, and I said, “let’s do it.” My desire to be here for my family is just too strong.

On Halloween 2018, I had my second craniotomy and angiogram to confirm obliteration and the cure of my AVM. 

Throughout this story, I came back to work after every stay in the hospital to a multitude of support from everyone at work and no worries about my job security. Why? Our culture is just incredible. With the benefits that T-Mobile offered, I was able to take the time needed to recover without worry that I would have a job to come back to. 

I want to thank my co-workers, my leaders, for my Human Resource partners for all their support throughout my journey. My family and I received so many well-wishes and mementos to keep me going, including a welcome back celebration when I returned to work. My full recovery period was two years, but my T-Mobile family made it a wonderful process.

If there are two words I would love for you to remember from this experience, the possibilities are endless with passion and resilience.  I self-identify as a person with a disability. The hemorrhage stroke triggered by the AVM caused impairments such as temporary paralysis at first, sensory disturbances at times, and problems controlling my movements on my left side which some will be indefinitely. I also became a mentor for stroke patients at the hospital system that saved my life. Not every disability can be seen and that is why it is important to “disable the label”.  My goal is to inspire those in need of hope through my grueling yet miraculous story. I am proud of my story because it brings awareness to strokes, AVM’s, & survivors.

To learn more about AVM and its effects, you can visit this LINK.