In an infinitesimal tick of time, my life changed forever. I will tell you my story, and you decide whether it was for the better or the worse. No one in my family had heard of it before. The words AVM (arteriovenous malformation) were to become part of their everyday language. Of course, as soon as other people heard what it was, everyone seemed to have a cousin, sister, or acquaintance who had su ffered an AVM on one form or another. Unfortunately, most of the other victims had died.