Chris fights Chiari Malformation

Hello everyone, my name is Nicolette Rodriguez and I am raising money for my brother Christian. He was born with a condition called Chiari Malformation. Pretty much all that means is his brain is drooping down in the back of his skull. Now for the last 18 and a half years we never knew he had this condition. He has always been a very active, happy person. He has played sports from soccer to baseball to lacrosse to hockey. He loves to be active and hang out with friends and family. Your typical 18 year old boy.
A few months ago Christian was playing volleyball with his friends and hurt his neck. Little did we know that was just the beginning of a journey. At first, it was just his neck; then the pain spread and he started to feel numb throughout the left side of his body. He went to two different doctors that told him he just needed rest and to use heating pads to relax the muscles. Weeks went by and nothing got better, it actually got much worse.
One day Christian was trying to help our older brother, Anthony, with some light yard work. He came inside and he obviously was in a lot of pain. I asked him what was wrong and he expressed to me how much pain he was in. That day, I looked up doctor after doctor to try and find out what was wrong with my brother.  Eventually I came across a neurologist that was in our area and took our insurance. I gave Chris the information and he called that day and was able to get an appointment the next week. He needed to have some tests run. By having an MRI they found out that his brain is drooping back so far that it is causing a blockage of spinal fluid in the top of his spinal cord.
To repair this issue Christian needs to undergo very invasive brain surgery that will be taking place this Friday, September 23rd, at Stonybrook Hospital.  They will be opening up his skull to get to his spinal cord to try and widen the spinal cord to clear the blockage of fluid that has developed. He will need to stay in the hospital for 4 days and can't go back to school in Cortland for at least 3 weeks.

All of the money raised will go towards helping Christian with his medical bills. On average, a 4 day hospital stay at Stonybrook is close to $50,000, that is not including the extra fees they throw in that are not covered by insurance.  Any little bit of money can help!

Christian is a smart, sweet, funny, caring, athletic and outgoing 18 year old. Nobody deserves to be in this much pain and this much debt at such a young age.

Thank you everyone in advanced!