Let me start off by saying that Chiari Malformation is a condition of the brain in which a cerebral tonsil at the back of the brain is down in the spinal canal causing the spinal fluid not to flow the way it should. Most adults who have this condition may not show any kind of signs until late teens or even on into adulthood, if ever. Some may actually live their life without ever knowing they have it. That is my "Reader's Digest" version (as my grandmother would say). It is a condition that is not widely known about and if you have it, you were born with it. You didn't just wake up one morning and it developed, so I guess my life never truly had a "before" Chiari.....hmmmm????
So, where do I start with MY story...???
I have had migraines for as long as I can remember, some worse than others, but they ALWAYS went away. Well, I am not a spring chicken. I am 39 years old, married to a wonderful man and I have 4 kids total. 2 sons and a daughter that are mine from previous relationships and an awesome step daughter.....ANYWAY, as I so easily get off track and I do appologize for that so bare with me please....
I had a wonderful job that I LOVED!!! I was a 911 dispatcher for the city we lived in. Well, I had started having pains in my neck and back and my arms had started drawing up with muscle spasms. This went on for a couple of days with back and forth visits to the doctor until he decided to have an xray done. After the xray, he sent me to a Neurologist that wanted an MRI done, so we set up the appointment, went for the test, you know the drill.....The Neurologist determined that I had a ruptured disc in my neck between C5 and C6. This all happened in June, 2010. Surgery was set up for my fusion to be done, about a 2-3 hour surgery according to the Neurosurgeon. I went in July, 2010 and had what ended up being a 5 hour surgery. The surgeon said that they had to put me in a harness, literally tug on me and realign my neck and back before they could do the surgery.....alrighty then!!!
About a month passes and I am STILL in alot of pain and having muscle spasms, more than I should be. So the Neurosurgeon sets me up for another xray, just to make sure the plates and screws in my neck haven't shifted. Well, lo and behold, when the images are sent via computer to him, he asks me if I have ever heard of Chiari Malformation? I, of course, told him "No". Now, I need to point out that MOST Chiari Malformations are found by MRI and not by xray or CT scan. My surgeon happened to know what he was looking at because he had actually seen it before. He was AWESOME!!! And then he started the process of referring me to a specialist.
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Just to let you know, I will have to tell my story in intervals. I can't sit and stare at the computer for long periods of time. But I will get it caught up and to date soon.....
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