Big-Brained Folks are Everywhere!

This weekend, while waiting for our older children to finish baseball practice, a few of the “fall ball” moms were chatting and getting to know each other.  This is pretty typical  of any sports season, as we are all going to see each other many times over the next few months.  However, for me, this conversation was anything but typical.

In the course of the chat, one of the moms mentioned her daughter’s early medical troubles, and in that strange way where one just knows what is coming next (does that happen to anyone else or it just me?), I listened to her describe my condition.

I suffer from a congenital defect called a Chiari Malformation (pronounced kee-AR-ee) that was discovered in my case after a hospitalization two years ago for something completely unrelated.  In many cases, symptoms continue to worsen over time or seem to be triggered by some event.  In my case, both.   Others live symptom-free forever.  A great description of the symptoms and nature of Chiari Malformations can be found at the NINDS website.

In the last two years, I have met several other people with Chiari Malformations.  One I found online and then realized we both belong to the same mothers’ group.  One is the daughter of the massage therapist my husband gave me a gift certificate to for Christmas 2008.  Yet another is a friend of my parents’.   And now a little girl at the baseball field.  Random strangers with a rare connection.

I watched that little blond girl, all of 5 years old, who had been through brain surgery at 16months and was running and climbing and carefree.  I am so glad she had the opportunity to have a great surgeon available at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital who knew about such a rare condition and were able to get her help quickly.  Truly amazing!

I don’t often post on the topic of my condition, but sometimes it hits me.  This was one of those times.

Until next time…
C.