September is Chiari awareness month. All across America a walk is held on the same day to raise money for research and spread awareness of the neurological disorder.
In patients with chiari the bottom of the brain, the cerebellum descends out of the skull. Pressure is put on the brain and spine causing a multitude of health problems.
This is the second year that a walk will be held in Levittown.
Christine and Donald Mulherin organize the walk in remembrance of their daughter Ashtyn Jeanne Mulherin who passed away in October 2010 from complications of chiari. They also have a daughter Alyssa who was diagnosed with chiari.
“I don’t want anyone to go through what Ashtyn did,” said Christine.
There is another family from Levittown familiar with the struggles of everyday life with this condition.
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| Photo By Diane Davies-Dixon |
The first to be diagnosed with the disorder was Shayna.
At 18 months she began having seizures. It was during an MRI looking for the cause of seizures that the doctors discovered she had Chiari. Shayna is the only one of the four girls who has not had surgery.
After learning of Shayna’s disorder Niki wanted her other daughter Bryanna tested. Bryanna was having trouble walking, talking, fine motor skills and crying a lot.
One month later Bryanna had the first of 23 chiari surgeries.
To read more go to: http://levittownnow.com/2013/09/20/conquering-chiari-one-step-at-a-time-across-levittown/
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