Heather's Bad Day

August 28, 2008

Yesterday was a dark, tragic day for Heather. After almost two weeks of unrelenting pain, she looked for relief from a chiropractor. This was not the first adjustment Heather had on her neck, as she has experienced some neck issues for a few years now. This time, however, she experienced severe pain and dizziness immediately following the adjustment. Her vision began to blur, and she expressed worry to the chiropractor. Concerned, he had her lie down and put some electrodes and ice on her neck. After a little time had passed, she began vomiting and told him that something was not right. He suspected that it was a neurologic symptom and rushed her to the emergency room. There they performed an MRI and MRA. The MRA (magnetic resonance angiography) showed that a clot had traveled to her cerebellum {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebellum}. This caused a disturbance of blood to vessels in her brain, or a stroke. After five or six hours in the Jordan Valley hospital, Heather was transferred to St. Marks hospital, where a neurologist was assigned as her treating physician.

Heather has been able to speak and has maintained control of her extremities throughout this ordeal, for which we are very grateful. Most affected has been her eyes, in which she is experiencing some double vision and difficulty with peripheral vision. Her left hand seems to be lacking coordination, and she has a hard time balancing while standing, so we must always be there to help prevent a fall. The pain in her neck has not subsided, and there is additional pain from the stroke in the posterior part of her head. She is receiving constant medical attention in an ICU-like unit of St. Marks.

The most recent news is that Heather is finally asleep at 4:00 in the afternoon! This is significant, because she did not sleep much last night and has been in too much pain to relax. Her vision is improved even since this morning. She was able to focus on some writing on a mug a few hours ago with both eyes (she wears a patch over one eye because of the double vision problem). Her neurologist compared the MRA from a week ago to the one taken yesterday and came to the conclusion that prior to yesterday's event, there was no damage to the artery. Her theory is that during the manipulation of Heather's neck, she suffered a vertebral arterial dissection {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertebral_artery_dissection}. This caused a clot to form that traveled to her cerebellum. The prognosis for this type of stroke is generally very good and full recovery has been reported in up to 88% of vicitims.

We still do not know what the cause of Heather's neck pain is. The pain has led to numerous doctor's visits, tests, and medications. None of which has helped, and the pain persists, so we are diligently looking for answers. For now, her pain is managed with heavy medications and a medication for nerve pain will begin tonight.

We feel the prayers and concern of countless family members, neighbors, friends, and colleagues. Her recovery will certainly involve many of you, and we are so grateful for your willingness to help. If her pain permits, she will begin rehabilitation exercises tomorrow for her eyes and arms. We have Heather's sister, Jessica here to help now, and the boys have been cared for by close friends. Heather is in 3 West room 34 at St. Marks hospital in Salt Lake City, UT. Until she is better rested, it would be best not to visit. I will update this site often so that all may be aware of her recovery.

{a better description of dissection is found under carotid dissection on wikipedia, although hers was a vertebral artery dissection. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotid_artery_dissection}