Amber's Health

Hi my name is Madeline. My daughter Amber was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation about a month ago. Chiari Malformation is a brain and neurological condition where your cerebellum tonsils descend into the spinal cord causing compression on the nerves. A recent MRI shows a 7 mm descent of Amber's cerebellum tonsils. This causes her to have debilitating headaches, dizziness and neck pain. It also puts her at a high risk for meningitis as it can effect her cervical spinal fluid levels. The same MRI also shows a fluid cyst in Amber's spinal column.

Recently a blood patch was done in hopes that it would help with some of the symptoms. However, the dura was punctured and created a spinal fluid leak. Amber was bed ridden on my couch for almost a week with extreme pain and pressure in her neck and head.

Saturday October 21st Amber was taken by ambulance to our local hospital as she was not able to even sit up. We transported her to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis where they treated her with IV pain medication as well as medication that focuses on spinal fluid headaches. Amber's symptoms improved and she was able to be released.

Today October 26th, Amber and I are traveling to the twin cities to see her neurologist in hopes to come up with a plan until we see the neurosurgeon because at this point a surgery called Decompression Surgery is her only option for correcting Chiari Malformation. The surgery consists of removing a small piece of her skull, removing the cerebellum tonsils and removing the cyst. This surgery will take a recovery time of 4-6 weeks

Through all of this, Amber has recently lost her job, along with multiple trips to the cities, has caused extreme financial hardship on her family. Please donate if you can, every little bit helps... please share this but above all please pray for Amber and her family during this difficult time. Our goal is to relieve the financial stress so Amber can focus on beating this and getting her life back to normal.

May God bless each and every one of you

Maddie