Woman fights for her life after collapsing in gym

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) – An Ohio community is helping a woman fighting for her life.

Sarah Fitzgerald has been in hospital for several weeks after being diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM).

Fitzgerald, a 23-year-old paramedic, was just planning to become a radiographer when her world was turned upside down in June, but she has made remarkable progress.

On June 24, she was working out at the gym when she realized something was wrong, so she called her mother, Leah Vossen.

By the time Leah Vossen and Fitzgerald's father arrived at the gym, Fitzgerald had collapsed.

“We had no idea what was going on. We didn't know if she was having a heart attack or stroke or what was going on,” Leah Vossen said. “She had stopped breathing a couple of times in the ambulance and was intubated before she got to the emergency room. They did a CT scan and we were all in the waiting room. And when the doctor showed us the scan, you could see it was a massive bleed.”

Fitzgerald was diagnosed with AVM, which caused massive brain bleeding, and she underwent immediate surgery.

“Your arteries and veins are just connected to each other instead of having capillaries. There's high pressure in the arteries, low pressure in the veins, and when all that gets into the veins, the veins can't handle it and rupture,” Leah Vossen said. “To see your child struggle every day and be in pain every day is, I can't really explain it. If you're a mother yourself, you know that.”

Fitzgerald spent more than a month in the neurological intensive care unit before being transferred to a critical illness rehabilitation hospital.

“Over the course of her six weeks in the neurological intensive care unit, she had six surgeries,” said Fitzgerald's aunt, Michelle Vossen. “Because they removed a large portion of her brain, which affects her motor skills, the doctors told us it needs time and therapy.”

Fitzgerald is conscious and aware of what is happening around her, but she cannot speak. Leah Vossen taught Fitzgerald simple sign language as a child, not knowing what impact it would have.

“A few days after her first surgery, I was thinking about how we could try to communicate with her, because she had a tube in her mouth and we didn't know any of her deficits or anything like that. So I went to her bed and asked, 'Do you know sign language?' She raised her hand and said yes. I thought, that's great! That's how we've been communicating,” said Leah Vossen.

Even though the road to recovery will be long and difficult, Fitzgerald has many people who will support her.

“We're talking about months, years. We don't know their baseline. This will simply be their new normal and we don't know where we stand yet,” said Leah Vossen.

Fitzgerald's family said they hope to raise awareness about AVM and to raise money to cover medical costs. They have formed what they call Sarah's Fight Club.

A fundraiser will be held on September 7th from 2-8 p.m. at Pat and Dandy's on Laskey Road in Toledo.

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