Danielle's Road to Recovery

I’ve been trying to put all of this into words for quite some time, so here goes (I apologize…it’s going to be a long, partially incoherent read)…

As some of my friends and family may have noticed, I haven't been at church or any social gatherings for almost a YEAR because of odd headaches/dizziness/vertigo/etc. These symptoms can come on at any time, in less than a minute. They’re often made worse by certain types of lighting, motion, and certain sounds (especially certain instruments in music). In early September 2022, my doctor told me I shouldn't be driving myself anywhere at all until we get things figured out. Since then, I've seen my general practitioner, a physical therapist, an endocrinologist, a neurologist, an ENT, and finally the Dizziness and Balance Center.

A brain MRI came back totally NORMAL. This was a HUGE praise because the endocrinologist found a "bump" on my upper neck, at the base of my brain. A cervical MRI that came back showed some bulging discs at the base of my neck, and some misalignment starting just below the bulge and going down to C7. I'm now being referred to a neurosurgeon in April for that, and for further treatment of some serious carpal tunnel/double crush syndrome on both hands.

The ENT referred me to the Dizziness and Balance Center after he determined that my inner ear “crystals” were in place. With the DBC, I had 3-hour testing. It was absolute TORTURE! I was placed in a couple of simulations with moving floors, moving lights, low and high sounds, a swiveling chair, and a disco-ball type of light system. Just listening through the results took a little over an hour! The bottom line of everything is that my brain looks healthy. My ears look healthy. Nothing looks wrong with my eyes, besides the typical near-sightedness I've always had and astigmatism I've had for quite a while. The problem is in the connection BETWEEN the inner ear and my brain.

But here's the thing... THEY ACTUALLY FOUND SOMETHING! At least I have some validation about these issues I've been dealing with for the past year, as I was beginning to think it was all in my head. We're dealing with a chicken/egg scenario. I was diagnosed at 14 with "regular" migraines. I had multiple concussions in 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Then the vestibular migraines started in 2022. (We’re starting to realize that I probably had 2-3 concussions as a child as well, which could have revved things up. In addition to the vestibular migraines, I’ve also been diagnosed with long-term post-concussion syndrome.

To address these issues and get me on the road back to health and some sense of normalcy, I’ve been doing lots of (very expensive) therapy, along with extra magnesium and vitamin D, and melatonin to help me sleep at night. Usually, patients are in and out of therapy in about 4 weeks if they're not dealing with this special kind of migraine, or if they're not dealing with post-concussive symptoms. I'm dealing with both...lucky me! Therefore, I’ve been going to therapy twice a week for the past 4 weeks, and I still have another 4+ weeks to go at twice a week. (The doc thinks it's probably closer to 10 weeks if I'm able to go 2xs/week, but there's no way to know until a significant change starts to be seen.)

Here’s the problem/opportunity… each session is far more than we have on hand, even after insurance coverage. We’ve been beyond blessed to have the first 10 sessions completely covered, and very small improvements have already been made! Unfortunately, we can't afford the amount we'll need for another 4-6 weeks, especially with the multitude of other medical issues our family faces (feel free to ask for details on all of that as well). I won't be cleared to drive, etc. until the therapy really starts to take effect. We're trying to figure out how to handle things financially. Brandon and I have discussed several possibilities: Should we pray and do some sort of online fundraiser? Should we pray and just wait on the therapy until an unknown time? Is there something else we're not seeing that we should do? Lots of prayer has been involved with all of this, as it should be with every breath we take. We’ve decided to become an open book on everything that’s been happening.

We’ve also decided to communicate ways you can help if you’d like, as the therapy is getting ready to come to a halt until we can afford more sessions. We have started a GoFund Me account for donations to be made toward the therapy sessions and other doctor bills for Danielle’s healing. We also have PayPal and Venmo accounts if you’d prefer to donate that way. If you don’t want to donate but want to come and visit, we’d LOVE that! It’s been pretty lonely for the past year. And of course, the absolute most important thing you can do is PRAY! We covet your prayers, and I’m sorry I haven’t been able to formulate into words where I’ve been for the past year. It’s often a struggle to even sit at the computer for long periods without having an “episode”.

We continue to be blessed to host a small group at our house, and I count down the days until each small group because I often feel alone and trapped with no real connection to the outside world. If y'all could pray with us on this as well, we'd appreciate it. Again, though, I'm truly thankful that something was found, that it's not life-threatening, and that it's probably even treatable. I've been feeling pretty hopeless on this front for a year, and it's nice to at least have some answers. If anyone wants more information (as this just scratches the surface of what I experience on a near-daily basis and what I’m going through with therapy), we are more than happy to talk about it! Thanks for taking the time to read!