On October 2009, my mom underwent decompression surgery after being diagnosed with Chiari Malformation. She had suffered from SEVERE headaches for over a year and was told she was having migraines. Turned out, that was NOT the case.
Chiari is "a serious neurological disorder where the bottom part of the brain, the cerebellum, descends out of the skull and crowds the spinal cord, putting pressure on both the brain and spine and causing many symptoms."
I found out there was going to be the first Conquer Chiari Walk in Bakersfield. It's an annual walk held around the nation and the closest was in Fresno or Irvine for us to go. I let my mom know back in June about it and we were signed up ready to walk. As I have learned more about this disorder we have realized how lucky my mom is. Some people suffer from severe complications from the surgery, a little boy passed away after his autopsy revealed he had Chiari and had lost oxygen to his brain, some people suffer paralysis and some people have had to have multiple surgeries to help relieve the symptoms. There is no cure for this disorder and being misdiagnosed is a huge issue.
"They" call this the zipperhead!
Our group consisted of my Mom, Dad, Mitchell, Crissy, Aedan, Thomas, Nicole, Bobby, Mike and I and the kids, my BFF Misty & Eric, Crissy's sister Nikki and baby Zylah and my friend Andrea. It was so great so see all the support my mom had and see all the people Chiari had affected in their lives.
There was raffle tickets and my mom and dad won a ton of stuff! It was a great way to celebrate the woman we all love so much in our family!!
Here's the link to the news clip of the walk:
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