Mary Jo McAllister's story

Hi. I had Chiari surgery in Oct. of 2001.

A little over two weeks went by and I was not feeling well. I thought I had was getting the flu.

I had a CSF leak that was quite large on the back of my head. I was told to wrap an ace bandage around my head, as tight as I could. I thought maybe that was also increasing the intensity of my headache.

I was in bed, the room dark, my body, my head, my neck, in pain. I could not stop vomiting!

My husband MADE me get up and rushed me to the hospital. I do not remember a whole lot.

The doc told my family I would not have been here had I waited much longer. I believe within 24 hrs, I would have been in my eternal resting place.

I was in the hospital for three weeks. I am one of the lucky ones. I survived! Yes, my vision was a bit compromised, hearing loss in my right ear and I deal with headaches, several times a week. I am a lucky one!

Bacterial meningitis, returned in August of 2006. This time, I caught it earlier, knowing the symptoms. Again, I was a lucky one.

I had a shunt put in in 2001 and had a lot of issues with it, being in and out of the hospital, trying to get the right one. I have had the same shunt since 2006 and all has been okay with it. My neurosurgeon said, I will deal with headaches for the rest of my life. But, if that is the worst of it, I am BLESSED!

Mary Jo McAllister
June 2018