Rachels Chiari Journey so far: Christmas

Hi

Hi and welcome to my blog! I am 29 yrs old and have been through a rough few years. I got married in Aug 09 and by Sept 09 I was very ill. I was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation I, Syringomyelia and Hydrocephalus. I had surgery in Sept 09 to relieve the pressure on my brain and to stabilse it, this was called Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy (ETV). In Feb 2010 I had foramen magnum decompression surgery to remove a section of bone from my skull (craniotomy) and the back part of my c1 vertebrae (laminectomy) to create more space for my cerebrospinal fluid (csf) to flow. Unfortunately for me 4 weeks later I was back in hospital with meningits....I had to have more surgery.....another ETV (which failed straight away) and a ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt inserted. After that I was well and discharged from hospital...but my walking was worsening so I called the specialist nurse who arranged an MRI for me....which showed a massive syrinx (collection of fluid) in my spine....more surgery yet again....so in Aug 10 I had a syringo-subarachnoid shunt inserted into my spine. I spent 9 weeks in hospital (6 1/2 of them in rehab) and have been in a wheelchair learning to walk since then. I hope I don't bore you too often!!

Saturday 10 December 2011

Christmas

Looking forward to Christmas this year.....last year I had to sit and watch as the Christmas decorations went up and the cards were written.....but this year I have written ALL the cards (",) and i'm looking forward to helping put the tree up tomorrow after a Christmas party this evening!! Yay.....only 5 more presents to buy and we'll be sorted!! Christmas day is a busy one for us, my parents in the morning, my mother in laws for Christmas dinner and then over to my grandparents for a party Christmas night!!

Already in the Christmas spirit after a Scouts Christmas Bingo last night where I won a fantastic food hamper!! and some novelty mugs and plush characters!