Tasha’s brain journey

Hello everyone. My name is Brittany LaBlue and I’m writing this on behalf of my best friend, Tasha Warriner.

I met Tasha six years ago when she got hired at my work (Samaritan Albany General Hospital) and we instantly clicked. I admired her kindness and the pure love she had in her heart for everyone in her life. She is the sweetest person I know and she would do anything to help others. I know she doesn’t want to ask for help, but unfortunately due to the circumstances of her ongoing health issues, she is unable to work at the moment. Tasha’s last day of work was on May 16th and she is placed on a leave of absence until further notice. Tasha doesn’t have a full time position in our department, she is a casual. For those who do not know what that means, it means she is only required to work six days a month. She chose this option because she has a daughter with special needs and she has multiple therapy appointments a month that she takes her daughter to. Even though Tasha is only required to work six days a month, she always works close to full time hours or more than full time, but she does not qualify for any paid time off or other benefits.

In 2016 tasha was diagnosed with occipital neuralgia, a neurological disorder which gives her constant migraines; medication has helped to keep the migraines at ease. In 2016 it was also discovered that she has a cranial fossa arachnoid cyst as well as a pineal gland cyst. As far as we are aware the two cysts are not causing any health issues at the moment.

About two months ago Tasha started getting severe thunderclap headaches, at first we thought it was stress related but after a week or so of the headaches not going away or easing up she decided it was time to meet with her neurologist. The neurologist gave her lidocaine shots in her head and ordered a stat MRI/MRA of her brain. The MRI results showed a possible area for concern so she then was sent for a stat CT scan. The CT scan didn’t give enough information as to what was causing the headaches, so they ordered a stat cerebral angiogram. She was also referred to a vascular neurologist and a neurosurgeon in Springfield.

On the MRI and CT scan it appeared there could have been two possible subarachnoid aneurisms. After the cerebral angiogram it was confirmed that there are no current aneurisms, the two areas of concern turned out to be infundibulums on the blood vessels; however there is evidence that there was a previous bleed. (Hemosiderosis staining). She was then diagnosed with Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome. (RCVS).

The CT scan also shows that Tasha’s cerebral brain tonsils are hemorrhaged further down into the spinal canal than they should be. This is referred to as Chiari malformation. Along with the Chiari malformation, she also may be experiencing e a spinal fluid leak. The next step in this journey is a stat MRI of the spine, which should hopefully be approved by insurance and scheduled soon, and after that she will have a consultation with the neurosurgeon.

Tasha is married to her amazing husband Chris, and they have two children together. Chris will continue to work, but they will be struggling financially with out Tasha’s income, plus adding in the imaging copays and doctor visits back and forth to Springfield. If you can’t afford to donate please still share this page with your friends and family. We appreciate all the prayers and good thoughts.Chris, Tasha, or I will update more information after her MRI of her spine.

Thank you for reading. ❤️