Why I'm Walking to Raise Awareness and Funds for Chiari Malformation Research
When I got sick, the most frequent question I got asked was “What can we do to help?” I really never had much of an answer to that question until today. Until I had an answer to the mystery of my health issues, I could not tell them what I needed. So many of us struggle alone because we live without knowing what is wrong with us.
It took over a decade to find out what was really wrong with me. Nobody should ever have to live like that. I have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and Chiari malformation. Chiari malformation is when the bottom of my cerebellum (the cerebral tonsils) extends into the spinal canal. It can be very painful and causes a laundry list of symptoms.
Some of the symptoms those of us with Chiari deal with are:
– Migraines
– Neck pain
– Muscle weakness
– Problems with coordination,
– Stiff muscles
– Pins and needles sensations
– Reduced sensation of touch
– Sensitivity to light
– Blurred vision or double vision
– Difficulty swallowing
– Nausea
– Vertigo
– Tinnitus
Now there are many other symptoms that people with Chiari face and that is why we need more research! That is what the Chiari and Syringomyelia Foundation aims to do with the Unite@Night Walks. The walk’s purpose is to raise money for research for Chiari malformation and related conditions. It is a series of one-mile walks around the country starting in June.
I am so happy to be a part of the walk in Virginia Beach, VA on the 26th of August at 4:00 p.m. If I can help bring answers to families who do not have answers, then there is a purpose to all the struggling. I must admit though, my children are very young and have started showing signs. That is a big reason some of us parents walk and raise money. Because some of the related disorders are genetic and if we can save our kids pain, then we would climb mountains.
Find out where your local walk is and lend your time and your support. There may be someone you know who is struggling in silence with Chiari and related disorders and you may be the lifeline they need.
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Reanna is a stay at home mom, wife, chronic illness advocacy warrior, writer and world changer. Through writing she had found purpose in the pain of chronic illness. She volunteers with Dysautonomia Support Network in their writers club and blog. She also writes on a volunteer basis for DINET newsletter. Advocating for awareness for these chronic conditions is a huge part of her life. She believes that with enough of us banded together we can shift the way our illnesses are treated and how we are looked at by the medical community. “I was weak in my healthy life but now I am strong in my illness”.
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