Doctors Schedule Surgery to Remove Malori Maddox’s Brain AVM

Lubbock Christian University volleyball player Malori Maddox has come a long way after collapsing at a game in Wichita Falls. She underwent one surgery to treat a brain bleed. Now, doctors have scheduled another surgery to treat the cause of her health problems: a brain AVM.

Maddox's family updated the Pray for Malori Facebook page with information on her upcoming surgery and what it involves:

Malori is making strides in rehab and is beginning to prepare for AVM removal. If all things go smoothly they will remove the AVM starting on January 5th and complete removal on January 6th. Surgery is two steps: angiogram first to block blood path and then long surgery to remove AVM. After a few days in ICU they will begin the process of coming home!

A Brain AVM (or arteriovenous malformation) is "a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain." The condition disrupts the process of blood flowing from the heart to the brain via arteries, along with veins bringing blood back to the heart and lungs.

According to The Mayo Clinic, brain AVMs are actually very rare, affecting less than one percent of people. Those who have brain AVMs are often born with them. What causes them is unclear.

Maddox recently made important strides in her recovery process, which includes "strenuous" physical therapy, her family says. She spent the Thanksgiving holiday with her family, eating dinner at the hospital and even singing.

A GoFundMe account set up to help the Maddox family with medical expenses has raised over $15,000 to date.