Kierstin Barton, a sophomore at Rose Hill High School, suffered from a brain hemorrhage shortly before Christmas and had to have emergency surgery.

After sharing her concern about having a severe headache with high school nurse Teri Koester, Barton left school early on Friday, December 21–the last day before winter break.

“My gut instinct just felt like something wasn’t right,” Koester said. “And so I encouraged further medical treatment.”

Barton then arrived home, where she went into a coma and was transported through ambulance to Wesley Hospital. It turned out that she had suffered from a brain hemorrhage and needed to have emergency surgery, which was successful.

After surgery, Barton spent a week in Intensive Care and then another week in Recovery. She is now in a rehabilitation hospital in Bethany, Oklahoma.

Though she has a long recovery ahead of her, she is expected to make a full recovery.

Barton will have another surgery February 5 at KU Med to hopefully prevent having another hemorrhage.

“I talked to Kierstin several times over Snapchat and she is doing really good,” sophomore, Lauren Salyers said. “Her parents let her leave the house to go to Braum’s. She’s talking a lot and being normal.”

According to the website medicinenet.com, the condition that Barton has is called AVM (arteriovenous malformation).

It is a congenital disorder that consists of blood vessels in the brain, brainstem, or spinal chord that is a complicated and elaborate knotted web of strange arteries or veins that are attached by one or more fistulas (an abnormal or surgically made passage between a hollow or tubular organ and the body surface, or between two hollow or tubular organs).

Problems that are caused by AVMs typically happen before a person reaches the age of forty. Hemorrhaging (bleeding) and headaches are two of the most standard symptoms of AVM.