Why I'm in Milwaukee -

Yesterday I mentioned on this very blog that I was in Milwaukee Wisconsin for a few days, now for the reason. Stay with me, I have to go back a little bit. About a year ago my wife started having all kinds of medical issues. She had times where her vision collapsed into puddles of colors or turned into tunnel vision. This is scary especially when she was driving. She had tremors that shook the fork in her hand while we sat at the dinner table. She started having migraines and sensitivity to light. After numerous doctor visits we were told in April that she had Chiari's Malformation. Chiari's is when you brain starts sliding out of your skull toward your spinal column. This is typically found in small babies and in rare cases with adults.

In May her symptoms started getting worse. She was losing her balance, tripping, getting dizzy walking through the grocery store. She even got lost on a very familiar road. (that really worried me) We were told in May that her Chiari's herniation was 20mm, which is very large for this sort of thing. But working in her favor was that the base of her skull was more open than most people. Regardless this is a serious, serious issue that had to be taken care of. After several tests it was determined that she also had sinus issues so we were referred to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

In August we were STILL trying to set up an appointment with Mayo. We decided that a local hospital could handle her sinus surgery for a deviated septum and to remove sacs of infection. She did fine during that surgery but the recovery was painful. After repeatedly not hearing back from Mayo or getting put off we decided to find another option for her Chiari's.

Indiana has no hospitals or clinics who specialize in Chiari's. Most of the time Tina would go to an appointment and know more than the neurogist about Chiari's. That's sad folks. So here we are in October at Milwaukee. Milwaukee has a hospital that specializes in Chiari's treatment. We are here for 2 days, Tina is undergoing a battery of tests, MRI's, etc to see what they can do. At 12:30 today we meet with the doctors to discuss her condition and possible treatments or surgeries.

Online is a great place to get information but sometimes the information you get isn't what you want to see. I saw what the Chiari's surgery looks like and it seems like a medival torture routine. If she has to have this surgery they will cut pieces out of the back of her skull. Inside they will form a pocket to hold the Chiari's hernation in place. It's not fun stuff but it's why I'm in Wisconsin in October.
Ron