Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherri Logan.
Hi Sherri, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Eleven years ago, our lives changed forever.
Our son, Ryan, was just 13 years old when he suffered a devastating stroke caused by an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM, in his brain. In an instant, our healthy, active teenage son was faced with a journey no child should have to endure.
Ryan had to learn how to walk, talk, eat, and perform all of the everyday activities of life again. Over the years, he has endured multiple surgeries and countless procedures, each one bringing new challenges, new uncertainty, and new hope.
One of those procedures involved placing a shunt in his brain to drain cerebrospinal fluid. Then, in August 2025, Ryan experienced complications that resulted in a severe traumatic brain injury. Once again, he found himself having to learn how to walk, talk, eat, and navigate daily life—starting over for a second time.
Throughout Ryan’s journey, we began searching for answers. After his first stroke, we desperately wanted to understand AVMs. We searched for information, research, treatments, and hope for other families facing this rare and potentially devastating condition. What we found was heartbreaking: there was very little research, very little known about why AVMs develop, and far too few answers.
We learned that approximately 1% of Americans are affected by an AVM, and that the first sign is often a brain bleed. Tragically, the average age at which this occurs is just 17 years old.
We knew something had to change.
We spoke with Ryan’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Roc Chen, in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. Dr. Chen had also wanted to advance AVM research, but research requires funding, resources, and dedicated people willing to pursue the answers.
That conversation became the beginning of something much bigger than our own family’s story.
AVM Research Foundation was born from his parents’ desire to find answers and a physician’s desire to find solutions.
Our mission is to bring greater awareness to AVMs, support research toward safer and more effective treatments, and ultimately help make earlier detection possible—before an AVM has the chance to cause a life-changing brain bleed.
Ryan’s journey has taught us that hope is not simply something you find. Sometimes, hope is something you build.
We are building that hope for Ryan, for the families who are facing an AVM diagnosis today, and for the children who may face one tomorrow.
We believe no family should have to search for answers and find so few. We believe research can change that. And we believe that together, we can change the future of AVM care.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has definitely not been a smooth road. There have been more challenges than we ever could have imagined when this journey began.
For Ryan, the road has included multiple surgeries and procedures, feeding tubes, a tracheostomy, and literally hundreds and hundreds of hours of therapy. He has had to work incredibly hard to regain abilities that most of us take for granted. Along the way, he has missed out on many of the normal milestones that kids his age experience. Those are difficult things to watch as a parent.
At the same time, we have been trying to build something bigger than our own family—supporting AVM research and raising awareness so that other families might have better answers and safer treatment options. Keeping research moving requires funding, and that means continually going back to our community, year after year, asking for support. That part has been especially difficult.
COVID brought an entirely new set of challenges. We could no longer hold our in-person fundraisers, gather with our supporters, or rely on the energy that comes from people being together and sharing our story. As our kids graduated, went off to college, and began their own lives, we also naturally lost some of the young people who had helped us spread the word and bring energy to our events. We are incredibly proud of them and know that is simply a normal part of life, but it still created another challenge for the foundation.
And then there is donor fatigue. It is real. I never want people to feel like we are always asking them for money. Honestly, constantly asking for donations is not my style at all. But research takes time, and meaningful discoveries don’t happen overnight. We have had to learn to keep telling our story, keep asking for help, and keep believing in the reason we started this foundation in the first place.
There have been moments of exhaustion, frustration, and uncertainty. But through all of it, Ryan has continued to teach us what perseverance really looks like.
So no, it hasn’t been a smooth road. But every challenge has strengthened our resolve to keep moving forward. Because if our family can help make the road a little easier for the next child and the next family facing an AVM, then every difficult step will be worth it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about AVM Research Foundation?
AVM Research Foundation was created from a deeply personal experience and a simple belief: no family should have to face an AVM diagnosis with so few answers.
We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness and funding research focused specifically on brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Our goal is to help change the future for children and adults affected by this rare and potentially devastating condition. We support research aimed at understanding why AVMs develop, finding safer and more effective treatment options, and ultimately discovering ways to detect them earlier—before the first sign is a catastrophic brain bleed.
What sets AVM Research Foundation apart is that this mission is personal. Our son, Ryan, suffered a stroke from an AVM at just 13 years old. We experienced firsthand how little information and research was available when we desperately needed answers. Instead of accepting that as the status quo, we decided to help create change.
Our foundation works to connect awareness, families, physicians, researchers, and donors around one common goal: advancing AVM research. We believe that funding research is one of the most important ways we can make a lasting difference—not just for Ryan, but for generations of patients who may otherwise face the same uncertainty.
We are especially proud that what began as one family’s search for answers has grown into a mission focused on helping thousands of others. We are proud to be advocates for a condition that is often misunderstood or unknown until something devastating happens. We are proud to support research that may one day lead to safer treatments and earlier detection.
Our brand is rooted in hope, perseverance, awareness, and action. We don’t want AVMs to remain a diagnosis that families only learn about after a life-changing hemorrhage. We want people to know what an AVM is, understand the need for research, and recognize that there is a community working toward better answers.
At the heart of everything we do is Ryan. His journey has been incredibly difficult, but it has also given our family a purpose beyond what we ever imagined. We are taking something painful and turning it into something that can create change.
We aren’t just raising money for research. We are raising awareness, raising hope, and working to change what an AVM diagnosis means for the next family.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Honestly, the resources that have helped me the most aren’t necessarily productivity apps or business books. They are the people and communities I have found along this journey.
When Ryan first had his stroke, I became a researcher out of necessity. I spent countless hours searching for information about AVMs, treatments, rehabilitation, and anything that might help us understand what we were facing. Connecting with other families who had walked a similar path has also been incredibly valuable. There is something powerful about talking to someone who doesn’t need you to explain every detail because they simply understand.
I also rely heavily on the medical professionals and researchers who have become part of Ryan’s journey. They have taught me that asking questions, continuing to learn, and being willing to advocate are incredibly important.
Social media and online communities have also become useful tools—not only for finding information and connecting with other families, but for spreading awareness about AVMs and sharing what we are doing through AVM Research Foundation.
But perhaps the biggest thing that helps me do my best is remembering why we started. When fundraising gets difficult, when I feel like I am asking people for money yet again, or when the road feels overwhelming, I go back to Ryan and the reason behind all of this. I think about the next child who could be diagnosed and the next family who might be searching for answers.
There isn’t really an app for that. It’s purpose.
Ryan has taught me that you don’t have to have everything figured out to keep moving forward. Sometimes you just have to take the next step, learn what you can, surround yourself with good people, and keep going.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.research4ryan.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AVMResearchFoundation
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/UdFpxNMZ2Rc?is=FYDol9CVcXmDAD5c
