Megan's Brain Surgery & Recovery

Megan is a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter, a nurse, a caregiver, and a friend. My sister Megan was recently diagnosed with a Chiari Malformation which is defined when part of the brain tissue (the cerebellar tonsils) is protruding into the spinal canal. Having these tonsils wedged into the spinal canal creates a blockage of cerebral spinal fluid, which gets trapped in the skull. Due to the compressed pressure on the numerous nerves in the area it reaks havoc in result to several different body systems. There is no cure for Chiari and surgery is only a treatment option to relieve symptoms and hopefully prevent permanent damage. Dr Smith, Megan's neurosurgeon, advised Megan that she had a significant Chiari malformation and from her MRI pictures he could see no room for spinal fluid and he was really nervous with her case and advised without surgery he did not think she would live to see 40.

Megan is strong and has overcome so much already in the short time she has inhabited this world. Megan has not had it easy these last few years however, in 2016 she lost her father and mother only months apart from each other. More recently she lost her grandfather, whom she also cared for in 2018. Over the proceeding months I have seen Megan struggle with this illness, but she always tries her hardest to take care of her family. For the last three years Megan has cared for her elderly grandmother Marlene in their family home with her husband Richard and daughters Makenzie (5) and Khaleesi (3) and numerous fur children. But with declining health and worsening symptoms, recently Megan had to resign from the medical field to spend more time at home with her children, care-take for her grandmother, and spend more time focusing on her health and recovery. Megan is scheduled for brain surgery, or decompression surgery in the coming weeks in Phoenix at Barrow Brain and Spine. Richard will have to take time off work to help Megan with this recovery process as she will be unable to do normal duties for a couple weeks minimum. We are a strong family but this is going to be a very rough and long recovery. Anything and everything is very much appreciated. You know what they say, "it's not brain surgery!" well, this time it is.

The Chiari Decompression surgery will entail an opening being placed in the back of the skull, then an incision in the Dura (the leather-like membrane covering the skull), a diamond shaped patch will then be placed in the Dura. Cutting through the separation of muscles in the neck, and removing the C1 vertebra, the Dura patch will then be sewed in. All together the operation should take approximately 3-4 hours.

Megan has been experiencing many symptoms, much aggressively progressing as time has passed - initially Megan developed an excruciating headache which lead Megan initially seek medical attention. The headache lead to a never-ending head pressure that varies in intensity. Then came migraines. Then tingling sensations in the hands, feet, scalp, and face. This then turning to pinpricks, burning sensations, and numbness in the hands, arms, feet, legs, scalp, and face. Horrific neck and back pain. Light-headed, dizzy, and unsteady walking. Insomnia, fatigue, issues with speech, attention, and memory. Double vision, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, issues with depth perception, hearing loss, tinnitus and intolerance to noise. Difficulty swallowing, nausea and vomiting. All symptoms vary from day to day and of course are not all present at the same time.