Meredith Pomietlo- Medical
Donation protected
Hello,
With permission from the family, Cyndi and I (Brooke) would like to help Meredith
As some of you may know Meredith has been suffering in pain for the last 2 years.
Meredith developed debilitating symptoms out of no where. She suffered from excruciating head pain when standing, dizziness, ear muffling, sound sensitivity, and multitude of neurological issues. It took two years of multiple misdiagnosis, scans, invasive procedures, and failed treatments to discover she has CSF leaks.
In August of this year Meredith underwent testing, that was new as of March 2023, where they discovered she had 2 venous fistula CSF leaks. CSF venous fistulas are abnormal connections between the spinal subarachnoid space and adjacent paraspinal veins that allow unregulated egress of CSF into the venous system. They are extremely difficult to find and without the testing that was created in March, they would have gone undetected. The only way to fix them from leaking would be surgical intervention. This explained why the multiple blood patches she received didn’t bring her relief. To make things more complicated, she had a Venus fistulas involving the internal vertebral venous plexus. They only discovered these recently and Meredith was one of few to receive the surgery/treatment for this type.
Since Meredith’s surgery in August, her condition has declined even further. There is a likelihood that she developed more leaks. When closing csf leaks your body can still overproduce CSF, which in turn causes more leaks because your body wants to reduce the pressure in your brain. The plan for now is doing the testing again, but there is a long wait list to get in due to high demand for the scanner being used. It could be months before being seen again.
There are no pain medications that relieve the pain from this condition. That makes it especially difficult to live with because you never get relief from the pain.
This condition has caused her to be bed bound. It affects every system in your body, making things like talking and simple tasks extremely painful to do.
These are the years she should be experiencing life! Instead she is bedridden missing out on seeing a family member get married, her nephew learning something new, family gathering together, spending time with friends, feeling tired after a long day at work, along with many other life experiences. She is unable to drive or work at this time.
Many have reached out asking how they can help. We want to help Meredith and her family with the medical burden that has piled up over the past 2 years.
Most importantly please keep Meredith in your prayers. Despite all the pain her faith is still strong.
Any help and support is sincerely appreciated ❤️
Organizer and beneficiary
Brooke Strasburg
Organizer
Chippewa Falls, WI
Mary Pomietlo
Beneficiary