Teen overcomes arteriovenous malformation (AVM) to walk the stage at her high school graduation

Sixteen-year-old Sophia Dominguez experienced what she thought was a bad headache while getting ready for school in September of 2022. Moments later, her mother, Jacqueline, found her unresponsive on the bathroom floor and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Sophia was rushed to Loyola University Medical Center where doctors diagnosed her with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) — a rare condition that neurosurgeon Joseph Serrone, MD, explains causes bleeding in the brain. Following emergency brain surgery, Sophia faced significant neurological challenges. But through determination and resilience, she relearned how to walk and talk, ultimately triumphing by walking across the stage at her high school graduation.