Post Surgery

Brittany's surgery went very well! We arrived at the hospital yesterday (the 23rd) at around 7am and her surgery started at about 9:40am. They wheeled her out at around 3pm and we got to see her shortly after that.

Before we were allowed to see her, the neurosurgeon came to the waiting room and talked to us about how the procedure went. He said he was very pleased with how the surgery went and that they were able to accomplish all that they set out to do. He also explained that Brittany's Chiari was one of the most severe that he had ever seen. One part of the surgery involved widening the opening of the skull where the brain stem comes out (and where her brain was coming out) by removing some of the bone in that area. When he removed the bone in that area, he was surprised to see that the bone was very thin, paper thin in his words! He said that this was evidence that her brain had been exerting pressure on that area for a very long time, pressing it thinner and thinner. Because of this, he is convinced Brittany will notice a lot of relief from the new release of that pressure!

After surgery, she was brought to the NCCU (Neuro Critical Care Unit) where they woke her up. They kept a close eye on her, especially for the rest of that day. They checked in pretty often and did tests to make sure no unintended damage had been done. Luckily, even though she was still pretty groggy the rest of the evening, she passed every test with perfect scores.

One thing we were warned about when it comes to this surgery is that the recovery is very difficult. More so than most. Pain and nausea are big factors in this. She experienced a lot of nausea which caused her to vomit, which put pressure on the delicate areas that were worked on and caused a good amount of pain. Today, though, after receiving some medication that helped her sleep well through the night, we were happy to find that Brittany was feeling much less nausea.

It is now about 8:30pm on the 24th of January and we were finally able to get Brittany moved out of critical care and into Neuro Acute Care where she'll be for the rest of her time in the hospital.

She has just been sleeping most of the day today (boring right?) and we couldn't be happier! Surprisingly, they've had her on her feet walking to the toilet and even taking a very short walk down the hall today.

We have been amazed at the great blessings we've seen through this experience. We have no doubt that these have been a direct result of the MANY prayers and fasts that have been offered on our behalf. We have all (Brittany and the whole family) felt so much comfort and help from beyond the veil. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and love.

It's Go Time!

Hey everyone!

Tomorrow is the big day.  I will be at the U of U hospital at 7:30 am, and my surgery will begin at 9 am.  It will be 6 hours long, and then I'll stay in the hospital for 3-5 days.  How am I feeling?  Nervous, yet calm and excited.  Justin will be posting updates on Facebook and possibly on this blog as well.

I had my pre-op appointment today, and it went really well.  A nurse took blood samples and made sure my medical history and information was all accurate.  She answered all our questions and reassured us that all would be well tomorrow.  Tonight starting at midnight I can't eat anything until my surgery.  Up until 4 hours before, I can drink sips of water.  I am really lucky that my surgery is early in the day!

I want to express my gratitude to everyone who fasted and prayed for me this past Sunday.  I felt so much love and strength.  I know that Heavenly Father is watching out for me, and that angels will be with me.  I am so grateful for the calls, texts, messages of love and support.  I love you all so much.

The past week and a half has been kind of rough- my headaches have been pretty severe and I've been in bed a lot of the time.  I've dealt with some difficult anxiety too.  It's been really tough, but it helped me see the necessity for the surgery.  It's difficult not knowing how each day will play out- whether I'll feel good or not.  My husband has been so amazing in his care of me.  So has my family, ward, and friends.  I can't express enough times how much I love you all.

Britt :)

Surgery Date!

Hey guys!

It's been a while since I last posted.  Here's a little update on how things are going:

I'm feeling a lot better!  I still get headaches and pain/stiffness in my neck, but it has been very manageable.  If I put ice on wherever it hurts and take some ibuprofen, it subsides.  I still get the pins and needles sensation and numbness in my hand every once in a while, but other than that I haven't had any of those other crazy symptoms in a long time.  I attribute this to the thoughts and prayers of all my awesome family and friends!  I was so blessed to be in good health to enjoy the holiday season!  Here are a few pics:

 I have been enjoying lots of "baby therapy" with my nephew Lucca Clayson (left) and my niece Grace Lerdahl (right).

On December 22nd we got a call from a doctor from the neurological offices at Stanford (CA) who had looked at my images that Justin had sent him.  Justin's dad had a connection there and had helped us get in touch with him.  We were so surprised and grateful that the doctor himself called us!  He spent about 20 minutes on the phone with us answering our questions about the condition, treatment options, future pregnancies, and recovery if surgery is needed.  He asked all about my symptoms.  He said that from looking at my MRI, my cerebellar tonsils were about 17 mm below where it should be, which is pretty severe.  Most people with a Chiari Malformation have their tonsils at about 5-10 mm below where they should be.  He said that based on my symptoms, and how severe my CM is, he would highly recommend surgery.  He explained how he goes about surgeries like mine.  There are 3 specific things that he does, which I won't describe in detail right now, but basically he does everything he can to alleviate the pressure on the brain. He said he would be more than happy to perform the surgery for us, but encouraged us to find someone in Utah so we wouldn't need to travel.  We were relieved to hear this.  We told him about our appointment with Dr. Schmidt the next day.  He looked him up while we were still on the phone and he said that he looked like a great doctor.

On December 23, we met with neurosurgeon Dr. Richard Schmidt at the University of Utah hospital.  We were lucky that through my dad's connections we were able to get an appointment that quickly. (Thanks Dad!!!)  I was really nervous about the appointment.  But we prayed a lot that we would know if he was the right doctor.  Well we got a great feeling about this guy!  He really knows his stuff.  He performs lots and lots of Chiari surgeries, and has lots of patients come to him to fix the mistakes other surgeons have made.  So he knows what to look out for.

 He showed us my Cine MRI, which shows the flow of CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) in the brain.  We could see that, like Dr. Smith from Provo had said, the fluid was blocked from the back side of the brain and was all rushing through the front.  He also pointed out that my cerebellar tonsils were squished down really far (17-18 mm), calling my case one "in the big leagues."  We talked about my symptoms and the way the condition had been affecting my daily functioning.  He said that since it is a structural problem (the bottom of my skull is too small and the tonsils are squished in there), it needs a structural solution- surgery.  Medications for pain could help, but the problem would always be there.

He told us his specific surgery techniques, and they were EXACTLY what the doctor from Stanford had said!  It was very reassuring to hear two respected professionals who are experts in CMs have the same opinion on the surgery.  As we have researched, there are a lot of differing opinions on the specifics of the surgery among doctors in the country.

The surgery is called posterior fossa decompression.  Basically, they go in and remove part of the bone at the back of the skull and spine to relieve pressure on the brain stem and spinal cord and restore the normal flow of CSF.  They sew in a patch to expand the area and keep everything in place.  The procedure takes about 6 hours, and you stay in the hospital for 3-5 days.  Recovery is about a month long, and is quite painful because during the surgery they make an incision in the back of the neck to get to the skull.  While it's healing, the muscles hanging on it- back, neck, arms, cause a lot of pain.  It takes about a month for the pain to completely subside.  You manage the pain with medication, heat and ice, and particular neck stretches to regain full range of motion. 


Justin and I felt really good about Dr. Schmidt, so we scheduled a surgery date.  The first day they had available was..... January 23rd, none other than Justin's birthday!  Too bad there won't be a ton of celebrating going on, but hopefully we will always look back on that day as the beginning of the end of all this craziness. 

We are so relieved and grateful to have found this great doctor and to be moving forward.  I am nervous about the surgery.  Not so much the actual surgery, but the pain I'll wake up to.  But I know I'll be under the care of great doctors, nurses, and of course my husband and family.  And getting rid of the symptoms will be worth it!

I want to thank everyone who has reached out to me!  All of your kind comments and prayers have meant so much!  I am sorry I haven't responded to everyone personally, but please know of my gratitude.  I am also grateful for the people who have recommended doctors- we considered all of them very carefully.  I count myself very blessed to have such a great support system. 

We would like to invite anyone who is interested to join me and my family in a special fast on January 18, the Sunday before my surgery.  For anyone who isn't familiar with fasting, it's going without food and drink voluntarily for a period of time- usually 2 meals.  Fasting combined with prayer is a really powerful time to focus on your relationship with God and ask for certain blessings. I have had some really amazing experiences with it, myself, and I know it will help prepare me for the surgery. 

Thanks again everyone!  I love you all very much!