My Journey to Austin Brain & Spine

Approximately 3 years ago while Chad & I were still living in Athens, in our duplex on Oval Drive, I remember sitting in our home office when suddenly I felt a popping/explosion feeling in the lower, back right portion of my head. The pain was excruciating! The popping/explosion sensation was followed by a numbing, tingling pain that was sent throughout my entire head. Not only was I in immense pain, but I was really scared! …What was happening to me?!?! Little did I know this was the beginning of 3 years of headaches, pain, worry, and unanswered questions.
I immediately went to a general doctor in Athens, who was also Chad’s doctor, and I described what I had been experiencing; the popping, tingling, numbing, pain, pressure, and extreme tightness in my neck and shoulders. The doctor (no name mentioned) told me that more than likely it was a muscle spasm where my neck muscles connect to my skull. …Sounded like a good explanation to me, so I left the doctor’s office with a prescription for muscle relaxers that I would take every night and a special pill for when my headaches became unbearable during the day. The doctor also recommended massage therapy to me. I began receiving weekly massages for 60 minutes, upper body only. They felt great and Rebecca was truly wonderful…but the effects just weren’t long lasting. Oh yea, did I fail to mention that all of this was happening while Chad was away at the Texas Game Warden Academy?!?...Yea!
So every night I would take a muscle relaxer which would put me to sleep and I’d wake up feeling the same pain I went to bed with. Sure, maybe it worked to help me sleep…but no relief during the day, not even with the other meds he gave me to take. My frustration began to boil when I felt like no one understood my pain. I began to feel like no one really even believed me. So, I continued to “deal” with the pain…
It seems as if my symptoms started to become more frequent. Every day, yes…every day, in the lower, back right portion of my head I felt extreme tightness, pressure, pain (not a headache…but yes, it does hurt my head; very hard to explain), and the tingling became more frequent with random tingling throughout each day as well.
That pain was bad enough to deal with but it wasn’t until the popping/explosion happened again in the same lower, back right portion of my head that I finally said…I’VE HAD ENOUGH!
It happened this past summer (summer ’09) and again I wasn’t involved in any strenuous activity…just sitting on my sofa when suddenly the excruciating pain hit me again and sent a tingling/numbing sensation throughout my entire head. The only thing that was different this time, was that for a few days after this “episode” I felt extremely nauseated, dizzy, and I just couldn’t handle “certain things” (music, which I normally LOVE…riding in the car…etc). I spent a few days in bed completely miserable and I think this is when Chad really saw what I was feeling inside, it was horrible.
…So again, I found a general doctor in El Paso close to my work (no name mentioned). He prescribed more meds to me that I knew wouldn’t work and told me to “try them out”. SERIOUSLY…did he not listen to what I said?!?! …Anyways, the medication didn’t work and I returned to his office for a follow up visit. He suggested that he run a complete blood test on me to check for different things…so I went home fasted and returned. Blood results came back within normal limits. The doctor concluded that maybe it was my birth-control so he suggested I stop taking it…great, now a baby is on the way, haha (JUST KIDDING!). I tried this and nope…no relief. I was beginning to wonder if these doctors I was seeing even held a degree in medicine! I scheduled another appointment and the doctor I saw previously was out so I saw his partner (again no name mentioned). This doctor listened a “little more” and recommended that I have a MRI of my brain. I thought, finally, we are getting somewhere! I went to Southwest X-Ray and had my hour long MRI. What excruciating pain that was within itself! If you’ve ever had a MRI of your brain then you know exactly what I’m talking about…the stabbing feeling you get in the back of your head from lying there so long and not being able to move 1 mm because of the cage they have locked down over your face. It was definitely not a pleasant experience, but if it was getting me one step closer to relief then I could deal with it, and I did…barely! The injected iodine into me for contrast and I was hopeful that this would be the answer. The doctor called me in a few weeks later with the results and told me that my MRI results came back negative. …Again, at this point, there was no end in sight and I was still experiencing pain daily. He finally recommended that I attend physical therapy, so I went to El Paso Physical Therapy for approximately 6-8 weeks and did enjoy it. There were some things my physical therapist asked me to do that I just couldn’t…and then I became concerned. …Why couldn’t I do this?!?...Why couldn’t my shoulder move that way?!?! Anyway the stretching that they did on my neck did provide me with some temporary relief, so for that I was grateful, but still not the answer I was looking for!
I went back to the doctor for a follow up after my physical therapy visits and basically he said that I made “little to no progress” and he then referred me to an orthopaedic specialist. I thought, this doctor is a specialist and must be able to “fix my problem”. The wait was short and the time in his office was even shorter! I walked out of that room so mad that I wanted to throw my hands in the air and give up! He did not take time to look at or even request my previous records, MRI, C-Spine X-ray…nothing, he just wanted to stick a needle in me and send me on my way. NO THANKS! I took off my gown, dressed back up, and walked out of the office (yes, without even paying…and I’ve yet to receive a bill in the mail). As I walked through the parking lot to my car, my eyes swelled up with tears. Why me…why no answers…why does nobody understand?!?! I called Chad & my mom and they encouraged me not to give up. I began asking around to see if I could find a neurologist that someone I knew had been to…and I did. I called my “doctor” and told him to refer me…and he did. Finally, he listened to me! I made this appointment back in September/October 2009 and my appointment was scheduled for February 11, 2010. Glad they didn’t think it was an emergency!
During this time of waiting, again my symptoms became more frequent and more intense. I would have the tingling daily in my head, the constant pressure/pain in the lower, back right portion of my head. When Chad & I went home for Christmas, he suggested that I try out Karen’s “inversion table”. I got on it and slowly as I was lowered upside down the pain in the lower, back right portion of my head became so intense that I started yelling for someone to raise me up. That was the first and only time that I’ve ever been able to bring on this pain, it was horrible, and again made me really concerned. …This is when God intervened and made the path clear!
We were at Memaw’s house when Jana, Chad’s aunt, began asking me about my head and how I had been feeling. Oh boy, did she get an earful! Jana had a brain tumor a couple of years back and was the perfect person to talk about this with…she understood the pain, frustration…etc! After a long conversation she told me of someone she knew that had surgery and was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation. This was the first I had ever heard of it and she showed me some info online about it. It was strangely describing most of my symptoms, and even Chad agreed. I told her that it was something I would look in to. …Interesting right?!?!...Well, here comes the really crazy part…yes God works in cool and crazy ways!
When we arrived in Texarkana and I finally logged on to check my Facebook messages I had numerous messages in my inbox but for whatever reason I choose to open the message from Jennifer Hall first; WOW God! Jennifer began telling me about Sandi Davis who just had surgery and seemed to experience symptoms similar to mine. Jennifer did some background investigation and to make a very long story short…Sandi had been diagnosed with Chiari Malformation. 2 people within a week that mentioned Chiari Malformation to me….I was beginning to feel the power of God in my situation. I immediately called Sandi and we spent a good amount of time talking on the phone about her diagnosis and symptoms, my symptoms and run around with the doctors. She had a story very similar to mine with her own “ups” and “downs”, but I did notice that not all of our symptoms were the same. She recommended her doctor at Austin Brain & Spine and continued to give nothing but praises for this man and all that he did for her. I talked with my family about this and they encouraged me to pursue it. So, the next day I called Austin Brain & Spine and requested to make an appointment with Dr. Kemper. They informed me that they would need my medical records and images from my MRI & C-Spine X-Ray before they could schedule the appointment. I made a couple of phone calls and made this happen…then the waiting was on for them to call me back. It wasn’t until I was driving to work the Monday after my Christmas break when my phone rang and it was Austin Brain & Spine. They wanted to see me in 1 week!!!!!!! I was so excited but became quiet nervous, I must admit. I was really going to get answers, they were really going to find out what was wrong with me, I was really going to get what I had been searching so long for!
That Monday & Tuesday were crazy emotional days accompanied by horrible pain in my head. However, Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday…I felt at peace and the pain was slowly diminishing. I truly believe this was because of nothing less than all those prayer warriors who I had “in the loop”.
Chad & I left West Texas on Sunday, January 10th and arrived in Austin and met up with Chris & Sandi for dinner at Texas Land & Cattle...YUM! Sandi is such an incredibly strong woman and I truly believe God performed a miracle in her! Chad & I stayed the night at a hotel in Austin since we were only going to be there for one night (or so we thought!). Chris & Sandi offered there house to us but because they live outside of Austin and we would only be there a short amount of time, we decided to stay near the doctor’s office.

Monday morning came and my nerves were flying…I was more anxious than anything…I just wanted to know something! Dr. Kemper looked at the MRI I had previously in El Paso, back in July ’09. He was not satisfied with the images (too blurry) but he did notice that my pituitary gland was 3 times the normal size and was pushing back on other parts of my brain. He ordered another MRI which I had later that same day. He sounded hopeful that he would have the results and said he’d call me with them whenever they came in.
Chad & I decided to spend another night since it was so late and the drive home would take us at least 8 hours. We ended up at Chris & Sandi’s house and I’m so glad that we did! She is such a great motivator, encourager, and speaker….she is now my own personal cheerleader, yes just after having brain surgery 5 weeks later! When we awoke on Tuesday morning and started for the drive home I called Dr. Kemper’s office to see if the results were in, and they were…the only problem, Dr. Kemper was in surgery all day at another location. The nurse assured me that he would call me on Wednesday with the results, so Chad & I left for home. We stopped in Fredericksburg for some shopping and while we were there my phone rang…it was Austin Brain & Spine. They told me that Dr Kemper wanted to see me the following morning at 10 a.m. I immediately wondered why, became nervous, but somewhat excited that he did have an answer, obviously. So we turned around and drove the 2 hours back to stay with Chris & Sandi for another night, I’m so glad we weren’t closer to home!
Wednesday morning we woke up and drove in to Austin. Dr. Kemper met with us and these are the results he gave us:
- My pituitary gland is enlarged and does have a “spot” on it. They do not (he and the radiologist) feel that it is cancer or a tumor, but it does look to be a hemorrhage. We will have to monitor my pituitary gland and I am scheduled for another MRI back in Austin in a year. Because it is so large and it is pushing back on different areas of my brain, this can cause excruciating pain and headaches.
- The popping/explosion, tingling, and numbing that I feel is more than likely due to Occipital Neuralgia. I am being referred to a pain specialist who should be able to confirm this diagnosis by numbing that nerve in the back of my head for approximately 4-6 hours, if this numbing relieves the pain and pressure then they will go in an permanently sear that nerve.
I’m not exactly sure how this is done, but I’m looking forward to finding out more information in regards to this. My pain has been intense these past few days and I’m ready for some relief.
Right now I’m praising the Lord for the answers and direction we received. My prayer is that God will bless all those who have been and are in prayer for Chad & I along this journey. It hasn’t been easy, or short…but I do believe the end is in sight.


I have circled my pituitary gland and the hemorrhage is the small white portion at the top right part of the gland. (click on picture to make larger and you will then be able to see it in full view)

...Please continue to pray for me as I am still in pain and hope to find relief by dealing with the Occipital Neuralgia, as soon as possible.

In All Things & Through All Things, I Am Blessed
Amanda


Our beautiful state capitol!

...On the way home, or so we thought (before we turned around)!

Chad & I stopped by Sweet Berry Farms to visit my cousin, Evan, who works there!

Evan, on the left, going back to work!

Shopping in Fredericksburg (before we turned around!)

2 of the many great stores we stopped at!


Chad was so excited when he spotted a car almost exactly like the one his granny drove years and years ago!

Me outside the Ice Cream Parlor! YUM!

I had to drag him out of here! Chad tasted ever dip, spread, hot sauce, in that store...well, almost!



Sandi & I before we left the 2nd time; on the way to get the results!

...frozen fountain @ a hotel (during one of our bathroom breaks)!