Graduation and a Craniotomy? In This Economy?!

Hi, thank you for stopping by! My name is Carrie Benatti and it's never been easy for me to put myself out there like this. But, as a wise friend once told me, sometimes the best way we can take care of ourselves and those we care about is by asking for help from others.

The request is two-fold, as the title suggests.

On the one hand - I'm graduating from college with a bachelor's in biology and a master's in adolescent education - WHAT?! Yep! I, a high school dropout, am going to be a high school biology teacher and I could not be more excited about this path. I started at SUNY Plattsburgh in August of 2019 and struggled at first to keep up and manage my ADHD. But I found my way and, on May 20, I am graduating summa cum laude, the highest distinction for a degree. I've worked tirelessly because I am so passionate about helping students of all ability levels succeed. Here is a link to a class website I made for a Technology in Education course I took! The homepage gives a good sense of what sort of teacher I aim to be and the clickable green buttons at the bottom will further illustrate my teaching philosophy.

For 3.5 years, I have taken as many classes as possible every semester, including winters and summers, since starting in 2019. If you would like to send me a cash gift that will allow me to take a breath this summer before starting work in the fall, it would be money well-spent and deeply appreciated.

On the other, less celebratory, hand is the other item mentioned in the title. My husband, Conor, has been plagued for the past few years by a strange set of symptoms that were finally determined to be caused by something called semicircular superior canal dehiscence. Essentially, where the rest of us have a thin piece of bone at the top of our inner ear canal separating our inner ear from our brain cavity, he has a very tiny hole. His symptoms come and go but they mainly consist of something similar to vertigo (more like suddenly feeling like the world is rocking, like he is at sea, what the neurotologist [brain-ear doctor!] called "hallucinations of movement triggered by sound waves") and something called autophony, where you hear inside of your head instead of outside for periods of time. That last one may not sound too bad, but it can be both terrifying and debilitating to suddenly be unable to hear the world outside of your head while hearing your blood flow, your eyes move, your jaw creak. For the past few years, these symptoms have led to him having to miss weeks of work at a time on occasion and to be in discomfort most of the time. After a year of testing and seeing specialists, it has been determined that he needs a very invasive surgery to fix the issue.

Here is Conor being shown his inner ear issues by the neurosurgeon that will be in charge of the craniotomy and brain maneuvering portion of his procedure.

The surgery involves two surgeons working in tandem to open his skull, move his brain enough to get tools underneath it, and then install a piece of fascia and bone cement to fix his inner ear. He will need to spend a few days in the hospital in Vermont, a week or so in high-needs recovery mode, a couple of weeks doing physical therapy to regain his balance (which is heavily affected by your inner ear) and relearn how to walk confidently, and it will be at least a month before he can be cleared to drive and go back to work.

Phew! Given all of that, the need for both of us to be away from work for at least a month, and the potential expenses that come with such a procedure, please consider donating to this campaign.

This isn't just about the surgery - though of course that is the thing that pushed me to reach out this way. I have been incredibly disconnected from my friends and family both far and near since 2019 and maybe, after Conor has recovered, we could take some time this summer to reconnect and live a little. He has been beyond supportive while I've been so intensely focused on school, gaining the skills and knowledge I need to become the best science educator I can be.

Thank you for reading this and for any support you can offer - even if it's a few bucks or sending this along to someone you know that might be in a position to offer financial support.

- Carrie!