A heartbroken father is warning others about the symptoms of a rare condition after his nine-year-old daughter died from a catastrophic brain bleed. Hannah Teklic, from Sydney, Australia, went to bed as usual on May 6 but awoke hours later complaining of a headache and neck pain. Just days later, the young girl passed away.
A Sudden and Tragic Turn
Hannah's mother, Wasima Lamrani, initially thought the pain might be from dancing and doing cartwheels days earlier and gave her daughter painkillers. However, Hannah soon began vomiting, fell out of bed, and suffered a seizure. She stopped breathing in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery to remove excess fluid and relieve pressure on her brain before being transferred to a children's hospital.
Two days later, doctors told Hannah's parents that she had been declared brain dead and was unlikely to recover. "There was nothing more they could do," said her father, Ivan Teklic. "We did not have the heart to turn off her life support on Mother's Day, so we stayed with her until Monday." He added, "She was totally fine on Wednesday night. It makes no sense."
Understanding Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM)
It is understood that Hannah suffered an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a tangle of blood vessels that creates irregular connections between arteries and veins. This disrupts blood flow and prevents tissue from receiving oxygen. AVM occurs in roughly three in 10,000 people and usually forms during development or shortly after birth, according to the Brain Foundation. Teklic noted that AVM cannot be detected on scans and many patients do not show symptoms until it ruptures. "It literally came out of nowhere," he said.
Raising Awareness of Symptoms
Hannah's parents hope that sharing her story will raise awareness of AVM symptoms, which can include sudden and severe headache, vomiting, double or blurred vision, seizures, muscle weakness, neck stiffness, lethargy, disorientation, and irritability. Teklic emphasized that doctors told them there was nothing they could have done, even if they had called for an ambulance earlier.
The couple remember their "best buddy" as a free spirit who was talented, kind, creative, and caring. "Hannah loved everything and everyone," Mr. Teklic said. "She wouldn't hurt a fly or walk on ants. Even when she lost something, she would be sad. Her energy was so huge."
Hannah's funeral was held on Monday, and her body will be repatriated to Ireland, her mother's homeland, where she will be buried next to her great-grandparents. A GoFundMe page organizer wrote, "She is a bright, beautiful soul who brought so much love, laughter and happiness to her mum, dad and everyone around her. This unimaginable sudden loss has deeply affected her family in Australia, Ireland, Spain and Morocco. It has also impacted Hannah's friends, classmates, teachers and all who knew and loved her."
