Sarah Angelini

8 months ago I started feeling nauseas and really hot, like I had a fever but a strange sort of hot sensation, with no clues as to why I dismissed it as nothing. Every once in awhile I would get headaches that felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat in the back of my head as hard as they possibly could. I told my mom and she said I probably was just getting migraines and I figured i probably was too. Overtime my headaches would get more and more frequent, along with nausea and strange body aches and pains. I saw a chiropractor and I told him I swore I had a brain tumor or something, because of the constant headaches that would become less painful when I laid on my back. He told me I didn't have a tumor and that it was probably just nothing. When I would tell someone, I seemed completely insane. Then the headaches started everyday, some lasting 4 or 5 hours along with weird body numbness, along with aches and stabbing pain. I finally decided to go see my family doctor who asked me where my pain was and had me do some tests to see how my motor skills were, then told me shes ordering an MRI along with an EKG (I was also having heart palpitations). My tests went well and I waited 5 days before hearing back from the doctor, who then told me I had Arnold Chiari Malformation type 1 and that I needed to go see a neuro surgeon. Being diagnosed with Arnold Chiari malformation type 1 is the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. Chiari malformation is an abnormality in the lower part of the brain called the cerebellum. There is no cure for chiari, only headache and pain management, physical therapy, as well as surgery. Tomorrow I meet with a neurosurgeon at Beaumont hospital to figure out what the best treatment for me is. The only thing that keeps crossing my mind is that finally, the most nerve racking part of not knowing whats going to happen with me will soon be over.