Like most parents whose children are scheduled for Chiari decompression surgery, I spent a lot of time figuring out what I needed to bring to the hospital. I wanted my daughter to feel as comfortable as possible, and I wanted to be prepared. I’ve compiled a list of things we used during our stay. Some are must-haves and some just […]
Tag: Decompression Surgery
The Weeks Following Allison’s Decompression Surgery
After the awful post-op day one we experienced, things improved enough on post-op day two that they decided to send us home. In hindsight, that was a mistake. Even the neurosurgeon thinks they sent us home too soon. Post-op day four Allison was in pain, a lot of pain. The only thing we could give her was Motrin and Tylenol, […]
Allison’s Decompression Surgery: Post-Op Day One
You go in imagining all of these horrible scenarios that will arise while your child is recovering from surgery. The pain, the vomit, and the hopeless feeling you will have because you can’t help them. Then they wake up and you’re pleasantly surprised how well they seem to be doing. Until 24 hours later when everything comes crashing down around […]
Surgery Day Is Nearing for My Tiny Warrior
In a few days, I will be experiencing what I expect to be one of the worst days of my life. Allison, my beautiful and feisty two-year-old, is having suboccipital decompression surgery with C1 laminectomy for her Chiari malformation. They will be removing bone from her skull and cervical vertebrae to make room for her brain, in hopes that her […]