Many thanks for your kind words, prayers and positive vibes. My most recent MRI
actually looks better than the one from February. However it may be due to head
positioning. I’m so relieved that there were no red flags that indicate that I
must have surgery. On the other hand, there is still some concern about my
compromised balance and tingling in my fingers and forearm. It’s possible that
the numbness and tingling in my right fingers and forearm could be due to
carpal tunnel.
We are left with these questions:
*Are the symptoms residual from chronic cord injury or due to a new issue from
the C1/C2 area?
*Should I take preventative measures and have a C1-C4 or C1-C5 fusion or should
I hold off and observe?
Action Plan:
*Assess tingling and numbness in hand with a neurologist who I see on Thursday.
*Seek a second opinion or two. Dr. G is referring to me to his colleague who is
a top ranking neurosurgeon at UCSF. I will most likely see a distinguished
Stanford neurosurgeon.
*Serial monitoring of balance and coordination in upper/lower extremities.
*Repeat x-ray +/- MRI for C1-C2 instability and C2-C5 if necessary
*Continue to capture video of gait over time to see if surgery can be justified
At this point, we are leaning towards monitoring the situation because a fusion
of so many levels would severely affect my neck’s range of motion. It would
also bring about a host of other complications such as possible numbness at the
back of the head after fusing C1.
I will feel more at peace if a second or third opinion agrees that it’s okay to
hold off. Please pray for our peace of mind, discernment and judgement.
Thanks!
On Oct 9, 2021, 4:20 PM -0700, Kristina Wong Kanemoto <kkanemoto@xxxxxxxxx>,Kristina <<
Would appreciate your prayers for my neck again. My surgery in March of 2020
was a successful fusion of C3 and C4.
But within the last 6 months, I’ve noticed that my balance has worsened and
it looks like now I've got issues higher up: C1 and C2.
Dr. G is now telling me to be cautious and not risk having a bad fall. I’ll
need to wear a neck brace when walking outdoors.
Worsening balance issues, difficulty walking in tandem, difficulty with
coordination
X-rays showed increase in the atlantodens interval.
In the picture below, the orange is a cross section of the spinal cord. The
ADI is the gap above that cross section. A wider the gap, the greater the
compression on the orange spinal cord. This could explain the symptoms I’m
having.
<Screen Shot 2021-10-08 at 7.04.13 PM.png>
Dr. G ordered an urgent MRI to see if the ADI is increasing and causing cord
compression.
I’m hoping my insurance will approve it early next week.
I have to admit that I’m feeling down, but I don’t want to fear the worst. I
just have to get the MRI done to see what’s going on. But I’m still thinking,
“Here we go again…"
Kristina <<
