Braving Brain Surgery: Gina Boldt

"IT HURTS TO THINK" "I CAN NOT BREATHE AND TALK AT THE SAME TIME" "I CAN NOT PLAY OUTSIDE WITH MY CHILDREN. I CAN ONLY SIT AND WATCH" "I CAN NOT TOLERATE WIND,RAIN,HUMIDITY OR ANY CHANGE IN BAROMETRIC PRESSURE" "I CAN NOT TOLERATE LIGHTS,NOISE OR EVEN SMELLS" "I SPEND MOST OF MY DAY SITTING ALONE IN SILENCE" "ANY ACTIVITY THAT INCREASES MY HEARTRATE WILL CAUSE IMMEDIATE THROBBING PRESSURE AND PAIN IN MY HEAD" "THE THROBBING PRESSURE CAUSES BLACKOUTS IN MY VISION,DIZZINESS AND WHOLE BODY WEAKNESS" "COUGHING,SNEEZING OR LAUGHING TERRIFIES ME" "CONVERSATIONS WITH MY CHILDREN CONSIST OF THINGS LIKE...WHY MOMMY CAN NOT DO WHAT THEY WANT ME TO BECAUSE OF HER BRAIN PAIN. WHAT TO DO IF MOMMY FALLS DOWN AND CAN NOT GET UP?" "I AM NO LONGER LIVING LIFE.I AM MERELY EXISTING ." "MY FOCUS HAS BEEN TO BE ABLE TO KEEP WORKING. TO CONTINUE TO ASSIST IN BRINGING IN INCOME AS A DUAL INCOME FAMILY" "I GIVE MY ALL TO MY PATIENTS WHILE AT WORK AND BY THE TIME I RETURN HOME I AM USELESS. I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO GIVE" "2 DAYS AGO I WAS INFORMED THAT IN 2 WEEKS I HAVE TO UNDERGO BRAIN SURGERY" "ALTHOUGH A NEW LAW WAS PASSED IN OUR STATE REGARDING FMLA LEAVE, WE WERE INFORMED THAT MY HUSBAND DOES NOT RECEIVE PAID FMLA LEAVE" "IN 2 WEEKS WE WILL BE REDUCED TO A ZERO INCOME FAMILY FOR THE NEXT 3 MONTHS" If you are reading this right now,you have already proven that you care. If you would just take 2 minutes more and read my story,you have just taken 2 minutes off of my worry. My name is Gina Boldt. I am a 36 year old licensed massage therapist in the state of New York. I am a loving wife to my husband of 12 years and a devoted mother to my children ages 11 and 7. The statements above are quoted and in bold lettering because that how they affect my life. They demand attention,they come first before everything and stand in the way of a normal life. I have been suffering from a serious medical condition called Chiari Malformation type 1 following a Grand Mal seizure in 2011. My symptoms have been consistent over the last 6 years, progressively getting worse with each undiagnosed year but it was not until one month ago that it was finally validated. On Tuesday February 13,2018 I had my first CSF flow MRI @ 1:30 PM.Immediately following my imaging ,I had an appointment with the neurosurgeon(3:45 PM)to read the results. " YES YOU DO HAVE THIS. YES YOUR BRAIN IS RUBBING AGAINST YOUR SKULL AND YES YOUR CEREBRAL SPINAL FLUID IS NOT FLOWING AT ALL THROUGH YOUR POSTERIOR SPINE OR BACK OF YOUR HEAD. YES YOU NEED SURGERY IN ORDER TO RESTORE NORMAL CEREBRAL SPINAL FLUID FLOW TO YOUR BRAIN AND SPINE". By 4:10 PM I was being scheduled for A suboccipital craniotomy and C1 laminectomy on March 1,2018. By 4:30 PM ,My life was turned upside down. During surgery and for at least 3 days post op, I will be over an hour away from my family since my surgeon is located in Rochester,Ny. Week 2 requires traveling back to Rochester for a follow up and every 3 weeks after that as well. How do you pay for gasoline in your vehicle and dual toll fees without an income? It is at this time that I am struggling with my emotions. I am overwhelmed with the fear of how we will overcome this as a family when I will basically be removed from my family physically,mentally,emotionally and financially for many months. I will require therapy post op to regain strength, since all the tissue and muscle in the back of my neck will be cut into in order to access the skull and brain. I know that in order to be the best wife,mother,daughter,friend,caretaker and medical professional that I once was, I need to go through with this journey. I know that I have to put my pride aside and ask for help. I need to enter this journey knowing that my mortgage,vehicle payment and monthly essentials will still be payed . That my kids will have groceries and hot water to bathe( the water in our home is currently heated by a boiler system that will only hold hot water for about 5 minutes. We hold our breathe daily in hopes that it will make it another day. We have been quoted a price of $7,000.00 to completely replace the system. ) My husband has been working as many overtime shifts at work as possible in order to provide for us. He is struggling to carry all the weight on his shoulders plus stay strong to support his wife facing brain surgery all while struggling with his own pain. My husband has several serious spinal herniations that are impinging his nerves. His pain is constant and at most times unbearable and he needs to have surgery as well. My husband has neglected his own health in order to allow me to fix mine. With that said as soon as I am healed, he will need to fix himself. I am incredibly worried that the financial stress associated with both of us out of work right now will not allow for him to get the help that he needs as well. I am not asking for help for myself but for my husband and kids. For those of you that have stated " let me know what I can do" or " let me know if you need anything". This is for you. This is a mother's plea to give her children 2 healthy parents and a world full of possibilities. I will be eternally grateful for any possible way that you can help ease my financial fears as I prepare for this journey.