Erin Tannar

On Saturday night, Erin was out with her friends. After complaints of a headache, she became unconscious and began seizing. After being rushed down to the hospital and seizing several more times, Erin experienced a massive hemorrhage in her brain. She was flown down to Vancouver General Hospital in the middle of the night after doctors suspected she may have Arteriovenious Malformation. She had two long brain surgery’s to remove the blood clot and AVM in her brain and the second within a couple hours of the first was a crainotomy. A portion of her skull has been removed as her brain won’t stop swelling and to reduce blood pressure.  She has a “bolt” in her brain to measure blood and oxygen and machines doing her brains work. There is significant brain damage, if she lives it may take months to walk again, with much speech therapy and other therapy aswell. 


A message from her mother:

”We are optimistic that she will live, but there is no guarantee. I am numb. I have seen her two times for 10 seconds each between the glass. She was so looking forward to prom at KSS in May. I just want her to live. They will keep her in a deep deep coma until the brain swelling goes down. Her entire body functioning is supported with machines. We are not to touch her as she needs to keep cool so as not to stimulate the brain. It has to calm down. Please please god let her come out of this alive with a brain that works.”


Arteriovenous Malformation is a tangle of abnormal and poorly formed blood vessels( Arteries and veins). They can occur anywhere in the body. Brain AVM’s are of special concern because of the damage they cause when they bleed.


Her family is waiting on the next step and will be staying in Vancouver for awhile until it is safe to take her out of sedation. Even after she will need to be cared for in the hospital for awhile.

Erin is very compassionate strong young woman. There’s not enough words I could write down to describe how amazing she is. Her outgoing personality and pink hair never fails to put a smile on my face. Erin loves to play ringette and loves to be around her friends enjoying her adventurous personality. Hoping to fulfil her ambition, Erin has been studying hard to become a nurse once she graduates high school this year at KSS. All of Erin’s friends want her and her family to know how much we love and care about her, stay strong.❤️


We are all sending out hopes and prayers to the Tannar family. Any generous donations would be greatly appreciated while her family stays with her in this time of despair. Please hope and pray for our friend.

Thank you.