A Nailsea woman whose ‘headache’ turned out to be a rare brain condition has undergone three years of medical treatment.
Zoe Roberts was admitted to hospital after suffering from a brain haemorrhage when on her way to meet friends for lunch.
Zoe was among one per cent of people in the country to have arteriovenous malformation (AVM).
The 34-year-old said 'her life completely changed' as she was forced to learn to walk again following a two-month stay at Southmead Hospital in Bristol - but next month will climb the UK's highest mountains.
She returned to hospital to for a 10-hour operation to remove the abnormal blood vessels.
Zoe said: "I don't remember much from the day, it felt like a sharp knife had hit behind my left eye.
"I was in the car park, I don't know how my friends found me.
"I lost complete consciousness and the right side of my body lost function.
"When I regained consciousness five days later, I was told about my condition and I was shocked.
"I became bed-bound and had 15-20 seizures a day.
"I had to learn to walk again using a zimmerframe but the seizures made it difficult.
"I was put on 38 tablets to stop the seizures."
Zoe finally came off the medication and was allowed to return to her parents' house to recover for two months.
She was offered three options including the lengthy craniotomy surgery.
She added: "The swelling from the surgery left me unable to talk for a few days but I walked away (from hospital) a week later with my parents feeling so much better."
She will have her last check-up in August to see if the surgery was a success.
To show her appreciation, Zoe will take on the ultimate walking challenge to raise money for the hospital which helped her.
She hopes to complete the Three Peaks Challenge on July 6 to raise money for a robotic digital microscope to allow surgeons to examine the brain in more detail.
The challenge will see her aim to conquer Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England and finish with Snowdon in Wales in just 24 hours.
To donate money, click here.
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