January 13 will be my start of a new year, and hopefully, new life. I’ve heard many promising stories about decompression surgery for Chiari malformation, but of course, this is my skull, my brain, my body, my life, and I’m understandably anxious. At the same time, the headaches are getting more severe and more frequent, and I welcome the opportunity for relief. The surgeon cannot guarantee relief from any of my other many neurological symptoms, but if all it helps is the headaches, that in and of itself is a huge success.
I’ve had to go through a long, difficult battle just getting a diagnosis and being listened to–typical of Chiari, I’ve found–and as a result I sought the expertise of one of the current world experts on the condition. He will be the one doing my surgery, despite the fact he’s in New York and I’m in Southern California, heh. We fly out to NY on Friday.
I still struggle to enjoy my horses, though the holidays were so busy I rarely had time or energy. The other day I didn’t have it in me to do much more than sit in a chair and let them out to graze on the property. Watching my Arab play with my friend’s now-31yro OTTB (I have her permission to let him out when I let out mine) is a hoot–and heck, even my lazy mini got in on the action. When my days are bad, I take a lot of photos and video so I can enjoy them later, remembering what it’s like to be in their presence. I still get my horsey therapy then, even when I’m not physically with them.
Here are a few photos from the other day:
My gelding LOVES goofing off with the TB
Typical–the mini is leading the way
Just as she’s leading the way here, too, heh
But try as she might, my Arab’s legs are longer than hers
Doesn’t stop her from cheating and cutting corners so she can be ahead of him again
I’ll keep you all updated as the day nears and will edit and update this post. My blog (linked in my signature) also has some info on my condition, the surgery, and a link to a GoFundMe page that I regularly update with the latest in this saga.
Here’s to a New Year, indeed!
