My Mom: A Chiarian, Zipperhead, Fighter

My mom is a Chiarian, a Zipperhead, many people don't have an idea as to what that means, I didn’t until August 2010. She has Chiari Malformation: A rare brain disease, where her brain is to big for her skull. There is no cure for it, only surgical intervention! This is her story.
Her symptoms begun May 14, 2010: Weakness and numbness in extremities, shaking, tremors, twitching, ringing in ears, slurred speech,trouble swallowing, horrible headaches, blurred vision, dizziness, electric shocks, the worst was the pressure in her head, as if it was constantly being squeezed in a vice grip. She was unable to sleep except in increments of minutes to a couple of hours, she suffered this agony from May 14, 2010 – September 15, 2010. She continued to get worse however, because I was about to graduate from high school June 5, she continued to push herself. My graduation day finally arrived,my mom went to decorate the park for my surprise graduation party, pick up the cake, and prepare the food. She was so sick but tried to hide it. It was hard to cook, her hands were not working and it was hard to stand up. She had to lean on the sink or counters to remain steady enough to prepare the food (but she managed it). September 15, 2010 she was scheduled at Methodist Hospital, to have life threatening, life altering "Brain Surgery" where a portion of her skull would be removed, two bones from my neck, and the covering of her brain cut open and grafted with tissue and skin from her thigh to make it wider so that my brain would have "ample space" therefore, making her a Zipperhead. She is still fighting this disease everyday as well as trying to recover from surgery seven months later. In spite of day to day battle and struggles still, my mom has decided to be an inspiration to others who are fighting and suffering from this disease and make a difference in their lives: She has started a non-profit organization Zipperhead Hearts for Chiari to offer support and financial assistance to Chiarians, she is planning a Chiari Walk in Houston, as well as contacting celebrities, media etc. to bring awarness. Her brain is too big for her skull but like she has always taught us when "life gives you lemons, make lemonade" and she is not only for herself but others too.

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