Finding Chiari

Many of our friends and family already know how we stumbled across David's Chiari, but it is worth re-telling.

David had a continual ring in one of his ears for nearly two months and after this length of time, he could stand it no longer and decided to go see the doctor. Upon inspecting his ears he could find nothing wrong and David was referred to an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist (ENT).

Again there was nothing wrong with his ears to identify what could be causing the ringing. After much deliberation, the ENT decided to send David in for an MRI to eliminate the chance that a small tumor in the brain was putting pressure on the nerves and causing the ringing.

The MRI came back and the phone call from the ENT revealed good news and bad. There was no tumor, in fact his ears looked very healthy. However, there was something called an Arnold Chiari Malformation identified at the very bottom of the MRI. This means that the cerebellum was formed with a segment at the bottom which grows out of the base of the skull and puts pressure on the spinal cord. This pressure had, over time, created a syrinx in his spinal cord. A Syrinx is a fluid-filled opening in the center of the spinal cord where Cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) had been forced to collect or pool as it tried to find an alternate path around the spinal cord due to the cerebellum putting pressure and blocking the flow of fluid.

After a visit with the Neurosurgeon and a follow-up MRI, surgery has been scheduled. There has been limited information given on what the recovery from surgery will be like and from all the postings we have found, recovery differs greatly from patient to patient.

We feel extremely blessed that David has not experienced any loss of motor function. Any damage to the spinal cord has the potential to cause paralysis. We were told by the neurosurgeon that the damaged area in David's spinal cord would cause paralysis to his organs and breathing function. Once you get this news you really realize how fragile the human body is and come to a quick understanding that the Lord is truly in charge.

Our intentions for creating this blog is to allow family and friends to stay informed on David's recovery as well as to provide information for those coming behind who may have the same questions we have. Today is Sunday and surgery is scheduled for Friday, July 31st 2009. This week we are trying to keep busy to keep our minds from running away with us.

It is not hard to keep busy this time of year. School shopping and preparing our home for an exchange student and church activities are all welcome distractions.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. I will begin updating this blog daily later on in the week!