October
2012 I am happy to report that I'm still feeling great as far as Chiari is concerned. Of course, I just
turned 50, so I guess the other aches and pains of age are to be expected. We just experience Hurricane Sandy, and for
the past few days I've been feeling exhausted, and my ears seem to be ringing louder than usual. I'm not sure if this
is associated with the extreme low pressure system or not.
And I'm so happy to announce that I am a grandmother now!! My daughter and her husband had Reilly Noelle Byrne
on December 21, 2011, and she is absolutely beautiful. I was fortunate enough to be able to babysit her full time for
about 7 months when my daughter returned to work from maternity leave. The franchise that I worked for closed down,
and I was laid off, but I can't think of a better way to spend my days than with my little sweet pea. She is 10 months
old now, and I just adore her. She calls me "Nana" (actually right now she calls me Nanananana). There are pictures
of her in the photos section.
My kids are doing great, and they're happy and successful. My
daughter is now a stay-at-home Mom, and she's loving it. My son works for a large company, and just got a promotion
to Systems Engineer. After being laid off for over a year, I am finally working again as a Home Support Scheduler II for a
large retirement community. It's an extremely busy job, but hey, that doesn't scare me.
Just a few months after I wrote my last update, we lost my brother-in-law Jim to brain cancer. It's been almost
two years since he passed, yet it's still hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that he's gone. Our only consolation
is knowing he's not in pain anymore.
September 2010 It's
been almost 12 years since my decompression surgery, and I'm happy to say that I'm doing very well. Chiari? What
Chiari? Symptom wise, I'm doing just fine. I am still, and probably always will be, very sensitive in the area
at the base of my skull. A big bear hug around my neck still causes a painful headache that will last a few hours. Sometimes
the back of my head will ache, but usually a dose of Advil takes care of it. All in all, I can't complain.
In October of 2009, I had
to have yet another laminectomy on my neck for a herniated disk. This time, it was at C4/5, again performed by Dr. Amiel Bethel
at GBMC. Recovery from this surgery wasn't as easy as my last laminectomy, but eventually I recovered,
and the horrible nerve pain went completely away, just like my neurosurgeon said.
My husband
continues to be my best friend, my "Imzadi." He's my biggest cheerleader, no matter what. Who would have known
that I'd find the love of my life living right down the street from me when I was a child. I fell in love with my paperboy,
what can I say? We don't shoot pool on a league anymore. It has nothing to do with my health, but because there aren't
many APA pool teams where we live now. We could go back to the place where we used to shoot pool, but it's a good distance
away.
After being unemployed for almost a year, I have a new, much better job. Let's just say
that my old job became completely unbearable, and I had no choice but to leave. Now, I am the Director of Client Services
for a company that provides in-home care and assisted living placement for senior citizens. The stress level is so much
better than my previous job, and my boss is the best I've ever had. And an added bonus - it's less than 10 minutes from
my house. I often visit a local retirement community as part of my job, and I've developed a relationship with so many
of the wonderful residents there. If you just take the time to listen, we can learn a a lot from elderly people. They
have so much knowledge, experience, and wisdom. They've been there, we haven't.
On a sad note, Last October my husband's younger
brother Jim was diagnosed with Gliobastoma. We were all so shocked - bad things aren't supposed to happen to Jim. He's
such a friendly, funny, easy going guy. A husband, father to two boys, brother, son, and uncle. They say God has
a plan and everything happens for a reason, but this time, I just don't know. Jim continues to valiantly fight his disease,
and his wife has so much strength and determination. Fortunately, they've had a tremendous amount of support from their
friends, family, and community.
Otherwise, life is good at my house. I have a wonderful husband, great kids (Jessica, Jeff,
and Donny), a great job, and a relatively peaceful life. What more could I ask for?
February
2009: It's been about 10 years and 2 months since my decompression surgery, and I'm still doing great.
I've had no complications or setbacks as far as Chiari is concerned. As I stated on a previous page, most days I forget
that I have Chiari.
The area at the
base of my skull where the bone was removed is still very sensitive to pressure. If someone puts their arm around my
neck and gives me a big hug, it can cause a painful headache. I suppose it will always be that way due to bone being
removed at the base of my skull. It doesn't happen that often, but occasionally my legs can get weak and tired.
It usually only happens after a long, busy day, and after some rest, it goes away.
Since my surgery
in 1998, it was necessary to change jobs. I worked as a Medical Assistant in busy doctors' offices before and after
my Chiari surgery, but eventually it became too physically demanding for me. Aside from Chiari, I also had a number
of spinal issues, including stenosis and a number of herniated disks. My doctor urged me to find a different career,
but being the "testa duda" (hard head in Italian) that I am, I didn't want to give in. Finally in 2004, I found
a position that would allow me to remain in the medical field, but was less physically demanding. I found a position
as a Medical Assistant Instructor at a technical-trade college. A little over a year later, I was promoted to Department
Chair, and have been there since.
In May of 2002,
I had surgery on a herniated disk at C6/C7, which was performed by Dr. Jon Weingart. That surgery was a piece of
cake! In April of 2008, I had surgery on my lower back. I had a herniated disk at L5/S1, and also spinal stenosis
in the left foraminal opening at L5. I often kid that when God was handing out spines, I must have stood in the "remanufactured
parts" line. I had to have titanium rods and screws placed into the bone of my lower back. The surgery itself
wasn't terribly painful, but recovery is long and slow. I was out of work for 10 weeks, and bored out of my mind!
But now I'm back to normal, or as close to normal as I will be. Dr Amiel Bethel, an excellent neurosurgeon at GBMC, performed
that surgery.
Enough about my
medical history! I've always tried to keep my life as active and as normal as possible, not letting my health issues
get in the way. I joined my husband's 9-ball pool team, and found out that I wasn't all that bad! In August of 2006,
our team made it to the National Finals in Las Vegas. We only made it to the 4th round, but hey, we had fun. We
spent the rest of our time there sight seeing at many of the famous hotels and casinos.
In December of 2006,
we moved 25 miles north to a beautiful, much larger home. We have much more land, and tons of trees. Our lab/golden
mix has room to run, and she loves it. We have a huge basement where our pool table comfortably fits. It's a much longer
commute to work (33 miles versus 7 miles) but it's worth it, because we now have 3 bathrooms!
And wouldn't you
know it, once we gained a larger home with more bathrooms, my daughter got married and moved out. She's the main reason
why we needed more bathrooms. One of these days we're going to turn her old room into an office. Or - maybe a
nursery when she has children! I still have my son living at home, and despite tripping over his shoes and his inability
to wipe his feet, I enjoy spending time with him.
Over the years,
I've learned that medical intervention is only half the battle when it comes to physical issues. The rest is up to me.
Following doctor's orders is important, but taking care of your mind, and having a positive attitude about life is vital to
your recovery, and long-term outlook. Live, laugh, love, and spend time with those who are most important to you.
I plan to post more
this spring/summer. One of my favorite past times is gardening, but I wasn't able to plant any flowers last spring and
summer due to my back surgery. I'm going to have fun with it this year! Hopefully I'll be successful and I'll
post pictures of what I have grown.
