2025 Go Red for Women Class of Survivors: Brittney Saunders Graves
After multiple emergency room visits for painful headaches, Brittney Saunders Graves finally got an unexpected diagnosis. Tests showed the 25-year-old active-duty soldier’s brain was bleeding. Now, 32, as a stroke survivor, she inspires and advocates for other women.
Brittney Saunders Graves, 25, was a first lieutenant in the Army when she started having an intense migraine and neck pain in 2018. She visited an emergency room on base, but doctors found nothing wrong with her neck scan. They did no other testing because, she said, they assumed the pain was related to her history of migraines and a recent car accident.
She said she was given painkillers instead and told to visit her primary care doctor if the pain persisted.
“Over the course of the next few weeks, the symptoms got worse,” she said. “I had trouble sleeping. I had trouble eating. I couldn’t really turn my head because I had the pain in my neck as well as the headache.”
Brittney did her best to manage the pain but found little relief. She saw a series of doctors and specialists, including a rheumatologist to rule out fibromyalgia. She returned to the ER but was told to wait until her neurology appointment, scheduled a month later.
Brittney showed up at the neurologist’s office two days early, begging to be seen. She said, “I feel like my head is about to explode, and I feel like I’m going to die.” She was told to return for her scheduled appointment or go to the ER. Frustrated, she left in tears and was stopped by the receptionist from the pain management department.
“She knew me because I’ve been coming there frequently,” Brittney said. “She looked at me and said, ‘We need to go to the patient advocate.’ Later she told me that my face was drooping and swollen, and that it looked like my eyes were bulging out of my face.”
Brittney said friends noticed her facial and vision changes, which are classic stroke symptoms. However, they were hesitant to mention them, fearing it would only upset her.
At the patient advocate’s office, Brittney filed a complaint detailing how she visited the ER three times and was turned away. The patient advocate noted in her file that the next time Brittney visited the ER, she needed to be admitted. It was a positive step.
Hours later, Brittney threw up and described her pain as 15 out of 10 when she returned to the ER. Three hours later, she was finally admitted. A doctor ordered a CT scan that showed her brain was bleeding, and after being transferred to another hospital an MRI confirmed half her brain was clotted. Blood was going into her head but stopping in the center, causing the pressure she had been feeling. Doctors told her she had a dural venous sinus thrombosis (DVST), a rare type of stroke that typically affects young women and occurs when a blood clot forms in the venous system of the brain.
Brittney received a heparin drip, which decreases blood’s ability to clot. She spent five days recovering in the ICU before being moved to the stroke floor. After being discharged, she did months of various therapies.
“Recovery was hard, because I was an active-duty soldier and instantly that was taken away,” she said. “I tried to go back to my normal self. I tried to work out, but I couldn’t even push myself up.”
Slowly, she returned to work and was promoted to captain. In the weeks following her return to work, the Army gave her the choice to recover within six months or get medically discharged. She chose to be medically discharged so she didn’t have to rush her recovery. She’s grateful for her own stroke experience because it helped her recognize the signs that her mom was having a second stroke in 2020.
“I had about a year of recovery to myself, and then my role shifted from stroke survivor to additionally a stroke caregiver,” she said.
Brittney also had to cope with her own identity crisis, trying to figure out how to live life after a stroke. She committed herself to improving her mental health, helping others and earning a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. She graduated with a 4.0 and passed her licensure exam shortly before graduating.
Now 32, she’s married and advocating for other women every chance she gets.
“I do feel like my stroke was a second chance at life,” she said. “To any woman who is dealing with any cardiovascular diseases or issues, you are where you are supposed to be in life, and it will get better. Do not let anybody box you into the survivor mode. Although we aren’t the same as we were before our experience, we have the opportunity to live life better.”
HEALTH CARE DISCLAIMER: This site and its services do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always talk to your health care provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your specific medical needs. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. If you are in the United States and experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or call for emergency medical help immediately. In such an emergency, wait for an ambulance rather than driving to the hospital.
Brittney Saunders Graves, 25, was a first lieutenant in the Army when she started having an intense migraine and neck pain in 2018. She visited an emergency room on base, but doctors found nothing wrong with her neck scan. They did no other testing because, she said, they assumed the pain was related to her history of migraines and a recent car accident.
She said she was given painkillers instead and told to visit her primary care doctor if the pain persisted.
“Over the course of the next few weeks, the symptoms got worse,” she said. “I had trouble sleeping. I had trouble eating. I couldn’t really turn my head because I had the pain in my neck as well as the headache.”
Brittney did her best to manage the pain but found little relief. She saw a series of doctors and specialists, including a rheumatologist to rule out fibromyalgia. She returned to the ER but was told to wait until her neurology appointment, scheduled a month later.
Brittney showed up at the neurologist’s office two days early, begging to be seen. She said, “I feel like my head is about to explode, and I feel like I’m going to die.” She was told to return for her scheduled appointment or go to the ER. Frustrated, she left in tears and was stopped by the receptionist from the pain management department.
“She knew me because I’ve been coming there frequently,” Brittney said. “She looked at me and said, ‘We need to go to the patient advocate.’ Later she told me that my face was drooping and swollen, and that it looked like my eyes were bulging out of my face.”
Brittney said friends noticed her facial and vision changes, which are classic stroke symptoms. However, they were hesitant to mention them, fearing it would only upset her.
At the patient advocate’s office, Brittney filed a complaint detailing how she visited the ER three times and was turned away. The patient advocate noted in her file that the next time Brittney visited the ER, she needed to be admitted. It was a positive step.
Hours later, Brittney threw up and described her pain as 15 out of 10 when she returned to the ER. Three hours later, she was finally admitted. A doctor ordered a CT scan that showed her brain was bleeding, and after being transferred to another hospital an MRI confirmed half her brain was clotted. Blood was going into her head but stopping in the center, causing the pressure she had been feeling. Doctors told her she had a dural venous sinus thrombosis (DVST), a rare type of stroke that typically affects young women and occurs when a blood clot forms in the venous system of the brain.
Brittney received a heparin drip, which decreases blood’s ability to clot. She spent five days recovering in the ICU before being moved to the stroke floor. After being discharged, she did months of various therapies.
“Recovery was hard, because I was an active-duty soldier and instantly that was taken away,” she said. “I tried to go back to my normal self. I tried to work out, but I couldn’t even push myself up.”
Slowly, she returned to work and was promoted to captain. In the weeks following her return to work, the Army gave her the choice to recover within six months or get medically discharged. She chose to be medically discharged so she didn’t have to rush her recovery. She’s grateful for her own stroke experience because it helped her recognize the signs that her mom was having a second stroke in 2020.
“I had about a year of recovery to myself, and then my role shifted from stroke survivor to additionally a stroke caregiver,” she said.
Brittney also had to cope with her own identity crisis, trying to figure out how to live life after a stroke. She committed herself to improving her mental health, helping others and earning a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. She graduated with a 4.0 and passed her licensure exam shortly before graduating.
Now 32, she’s married and advocating for other women every chance she gets.
“I do feel like my stroke was a second chance at life,” she said. “To any woman who is dealing with any cardiovascular diseases or issues, you are where you are supposed to be in life, and it will get better. Do not let anybody box you into the survivor mode. Although we aren’t the same as we were before our experience, we have the opportunity to live life better.”
HEALTH CARE DISCLAIMER: This site and its services do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always talk to your health care provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your specific medical needs. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. If you are in the United States and experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or call for emergency medical help immediately. In such an emergency, wait for an ambulance rather than driving to the hospital.
