Its official...I am going to have brain surgery

Just got done meeting with the neurosurgeon Dr.Kyle. He was very nice and listened to all my questions. When I first walked into the room he asked me if I was selling something. With a confused look on my face I replied no, that I had a Chiari Malformation. He said I was WAY to young to be seeing a neurosurgeon. I completely agree! 22 years old and I will be having brain surgery. Its sorta surreal. I never imagined I would be here. I am just thankful to be in an area that has the doctors and facilities necessary to offer me the best care possible. He said my herniation was pretty bad, one of the worst he has seen, although he said it could be worse. I will have to get another MRI, this time of my neck and spine. I guess my cerebral tonsils are so far down my neck that he couldn't see all of it on the scan. He said I could wait a couple months to do the surgery, but he seemed to want to do it sooner rather then later since my symptoms list is a mile long and the herniation is so bad.  I knew that surgery was almost a done deal, but somewhere in the back of my head I thought just maybe I wouldn't need it. But now that it is a for sure thing, I am ok with it.

Luckily I will not have to travel for my condition. He will perform the surgery at Mercy. I am lucky to have such a strong support group in my life. This operation is going to take a lot out of me, so I thank you all in advance for the thoughts, prayers, and sacrifices you will make for me in the coming months. I have ordered Chiari awareness buttons for my friends and family to wear and help support me. There is no cure for Chiari Malformations, and many doctors know very little about the subject. My hope is to help increase awareness about this condition. The more people who know about it, the more research will be done to help treat it. So if you want a button, let me know.