Journal Entry from February 23, 2018 "It has been 2 weeks of daily dizziness. Last night for a few minutes I forgot I was sick. I think it was the first time I was able to do that."
If I didn't know better, I would have said the MRI triggered a whole host of symptoms. By February 18th, I was losing whole days due to headaches, dizziness and neck pain. I was trying to make the most of a good day, because for every good day I seemed to have three bad ones.
I received an email from the neurosurgeons office and my consultation was scheduled for March 13. It was the LONGEST month of my life. Each week seemed to bring new symptoms and escalation of current ones. February 20th was the first day I experienced tingling in my hand that lasted until surgery on April 13.
During these days of suffering, we saw much of the Lord's kindness. Jason and I both were unsure of what Chiari Malformation was really like and the Lord allowed Jason to cross paths with someone who had Chiari and had undergone the decompression surgery. I can't express what a comfort it was especially for Jason to see someone on the other side of this journey. Well, I say the other side, but the reality is Chiari Malformation is forever, but after decompression surgery quality of life should be much improved.
As we moved into March, the dizziness seemed to plateau for a time but the neck pain was becoming unbearable and I was starting to be unsteady on my feet. During this time, I seemed to experience a daily, constant brain fog. And if you ask my family and friends I said many things that just didn't make sense, but they were kind not to point out every crazy thing I said. :-)
The day of my appointment arrived, and I naively went into the appointment hoping the doctor would have non-surgical options to give me. Unfortunately, that was not to be. The doctor noticed a "kink" in the brain stem on my MRI, this "kink" could mean I had basilar invagination. This is a very serious thing, and would require me to travel to a university hospital in Charleston to have the operation.
So, a CT scan was ordered to either confirm or deny the basilar invagination and again we wait...
"Thou, therefore, endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." II Timothy 2:3
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