In June of 2006, when our daughter, Annie, was two months old, Paul was having symptoms of headaches, dizziness, neck pain, difficulty sleeping and blurred vision. He had his first brain MRI and saw a neurosurgeon and was diagnosed with Chiari I Malformation and Syringomyelia. At the time, the doctor said his condition did not require surgical intervention, but we would watch it every six months with an MRI.
Paul is one of those loyal, hard-working husbands and fathers who works two jobs, seven-days a week to make ends meet for his family. His wife, Michelle, was also working full time until this June, when she needed to be a stay-at-home mom to take care of Andrew, 11, who is autistic, and Annie, 9, who has a learning disability in reading, otherwise known as dyslexia. This Brediger family lives a maxed out life all the time, with therapy appointments, medical appointments, Individual Education Plans at school, and the daily behavior a child with autism exhibits, and all the struggles with a dad who is looking at brain surgery and he is the sole provider for the family.
In the past few months we have consulted with three neurosurgeons in Seattle and Paul is scheduled for his first brain and skull surgery, "Posterior fossa decompression, laminectomy" on Thursday November 5, 2015 in the morning at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with Richard Ellenbogen, MD. The Syrinx has grown from 6mm to 13mm and is going upward into his brain stem. The hope at this point is to stop his symptoms from worsening, and by allowing the cerebral spinal fluid flow around the spinal cord, the bubble in the middle of the spinal cords will be able to decompress. We are praying for complete alleviation of all symptoms and Paul will be better in health than he has in ten years. He has been suffering with this condition everyday. It impacts his relationship with his wife and kids as it would wear on anyone to not feel well for this long.
We are hoping the financial support provided by family and friends via GOFUNDME will allow Paul to recover from brain surgery without worrying about supporting his family. Recovery from this surgery can take 1-3 months, and I don't want Paul rushing back to work before he is ready.
Paul is one of those loyal, hard-working husbands and fathers who works two jobs, seven-days a week to make ends meet for his family. His wife, Michelle, was also working full time until this June, when she needed to be a stay-at-home mom to take care of Andrew, 11, who is autistic, and Annie, 9, who has a learning disability in reading, otherwise known as dyslexia. This Brediger family lives a maxed out life all the time, with therapy appointments, medical appointments, Individual Education Plans at school, and the daily behavior a child with autism exhibits, and all the struggles with a dad who is looking at brain surgery and he is the sole provider for the family.
In the past few months we have consulted with three neurosurgeons in Seattle and Paul is scheduled for his first brain and skull surgery, "Posterior fossa decompression, laminectomy" on Thursday November 5, 2015 in the morning at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with Richard Ellenbogen, MD. The Syrinx has grown from 6mm to 13mm and is going upward into his brain stem. The hope at this point is to stop his symptoms from worsening, and by allowing the cerebral spinal fluid flow around the spinal cord, the bubble in the middle of the spinal cords will be able to decompress. We are praying for complete alleviation of all symptoms and Paul will be better in health than he has in ten years. He has been suffering with this condition everyday. It impacts his relationship with his wife and kids as it would wear on anyone to not feel well for this long.
We are hoping the financial support provided by family and friends via GOFUNDME will allow Paul to recover from brain surgery without worrying about supporting his family. Recovery from this surgery can take 1-3 months, and I don't want Paul rushing back to work before he is ready.