Long Time Coming

Hello friends, family, strangers, and acquaintances,
To begin I would like to apologize for falling off the radar. The past 8 weeks have been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. The first two weeks I was home, I was feeling okay. Other than the pain of the surgery, things were looking up for me. My sweet friend Sara Grace, and boyfriend George even came to see me. But on March 10th I took a turn for the worse. I woke up in the early hours of the morning, screaming with the worst pain I have ever experienced. The only words that I can use to describe it is my brain trying its hardest to explode from my head. I was in pain for 30 minutes before passing out and eventually being rushed to the ER. They immediately gave me something for pain and a cat scan. The ER doctor came in and told us nothing was wrong and sent us on our way. The next day I went to my primary doctor and he did an MRI. The MRI showed nothing seriously wrong, but a little inflammation around my neck, so he gave me IV steroids. For the next two days I went and received the steroids. But on Wednesday morning, another attack came. Instead of going straight to the ER, I went to my doctor, where he made the decision to admit me to the hospital. At the hospital I was sedated for 5 days. I was in so much pain that they pumped me full of narcotics to knock me out and forget everything. On Sunday morning, the neurologist at the hospital decided to transport me to UAB in Birmingham for further testing and better care. From Sunday to the next Saturday I went through test after test. An Occipital nerve block, 3 spinal taps, endless MRI's, and a bunch of steroids later, I was released with no real conclusion as to why I had these headache attacks, and why I still had a lingering headache that never went away. Since the first attack on March 10th I have not gone one day without having a headache. Some times they are severe, sometime they aren't.
My parents and I decided to go back up to Milwaukee to the neurosurgeon who did my surgery and let him evaluate me to see what is going on. In Milwaukee I had more tests, and appointments with the neurosurgeon and a neurologist to determine the source of the chronic headaches. In Milwaukee we learned nothing is wrong intracranial (blessing). We also learned that some patients after a chiari surgery develop headaches that can be managed with physical therapy, botox, or medicine.
So That is where I stand now. I am seeing a pain management doctor this week to decide which treatment is best suitable for my headaches. All doctors I have seen are very positive that I will not have to deal with headaches for the rest of my life.

Through it all, I am still happy I had the surgery. The symptoms that plagued me before are not nearly as bad, and a recent physical showed great improvement. I thank God for allowing me to go through this time. It has truly taught me to walk by faith. Your endless prayers, cards, gifts, and texts are appreciated more than you will ever know. Thank you all for standing by me while I go through the most difficult time in my life.
God Bless,
Abby