Why Zombies Will Not Eat My Brain

My father passed away tragically on 27 January 2008, one day before his 51st birthday. He died of a stroke caused by a brain hemorrhage. Twenty-five years prior, my dad suffered a brain hemorrhage and a stroke. He was born with an AVM (arteriovascular malformation) which is when your blood vessels are basically in a knot. He was a ticking time bomb. The fact that he hit his head almost daily (he was 6’5" and was stationed on a submarine) did not help. AVMs can be genetic. Ever since I turned 25, I have feared my 26th birthday because my dad was 26 when he had his brain trauma. The day he died made me fear my age even more. It also made me spring into action and call my doctor. I got my MRI and I went to the doctor last week to get my results. The Good News is that I DON’T have an AVM. YAY!!! The Bad News is that I have FMD (Fibromuscular Dysplasia). Basically I have a blood vessel in my brain that looks like a string of pearls. This weakens the blood vessel and increases my chances of developing more serious problems such as aneurysm or hemorrhage. Luckily, if I quit smoking, eat right, exercise, and keep my stress level down, I will have no ill effects. I also need to go to the hospital for further testing. I need a PDA (Power Doppler Angiogram) test to confirm my diagnosis. I’m just glad that I do not have an AVM and that I don’t have an aneurysm. My brother Michael is also going to the doctor because he is getting bad headaches.