Owen Guertin

First post: Dec 7, 2016 Latest post: Jun 27, 2017
We apologize for the impersonal nature of this link, but as many of you know, Caring Bridge is the easiest way to get the word out on family sicknesses, etc and Maria and I wanted let as many of our friends and family as possible know that our nine year old son Owen is dealing with a serious brain condition.  Due to Chris' family history, on Friday, November 4th Owen received a Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis.  He was found to have an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) on his brain. Although this was a jarring diagnosis to receive as parents, we feel incredibly fortunate to have this knowledge.  You can find more information on AVMs, their source and prognosis here - http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/brain-avm/home/ovc-20129992  (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/brain-avm/home/ovc-20129992 )



This strikes particularly close to home for me as my mother suffered a stroke at the age of 34 in 1976 and eventually suffered another stroke and passed away in 2003.   Maria and I feel lucky that Owen's AVM was discovered and we are now in the information-gathering phase of what to do next. We feel very blessed to be surrounded by an incredible team of physicians at Children's Hospital, our loving family and a great community of friends, teachers and neighbors.


We are putting this page together to keep friends and family updated as Owen's case moves forward.  Owen is currently undergoing neuro psych testing to establish a baseline for the future   He has been incredibly brave throughout this process and is aware of everything that is happening.  The hardest part for Owen has been being sidelined from his two basketball teams as well as gym and recess.  Maria and I are incredibly grateful to everyone who has reached out to help so far.  At this time, we would love as many prayers as possible.  Like most parents, both of us would rather go through the treatments and more rather than subject a child to this, but that is not God's plan.  We continue to attempt to balance a life of school and friends and normalcy for Owen and our daughters while also spending hours between Children's Hospital Minneapolis and Children's Hospital St Paul.


Owen's next pre-op appointment will be Wednesday, December 7th all day.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel down this difficult road.  We know we're not travelling a straight road and there will be twists and turns.  Because we cannot see around the next corner, we'll trust in God and pray that His will be done. 


Love, Chris and Maria 

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