One morning in May 2021, Lindsey was heading down the stairs as Theo was ready to get his day started. She had an odd feeling in her left leg and arm, and she knew something was not right. Lindsey took the day off of work and called her primary care provider, where the doctor thought she has a severely pinched nerve. A stroke did not cross the doctors mind or Lindsey’s at the time. Several days later, Lindsey returned to see her doctor as she was not improving and the doctor ordered an MRI of her brain.
After being off from work for almost a week, Lindsey had returned to the classroom, when the doctor called to tell her that the MRI results were back. The doctor stated there were signs of a stroke and ordered her to go to the ER as soon as possible. Lindsey’s principal drove her to the ER. After more tests, scans, and an overnight stay at the hospital, it was confirmed that the major artery in the right side of her brain had narrowed by 70%. Now the mystery of why she had the stroke and what caused the artery to narrow began.
Fast forward to December 2021, a repeat cerebral angiogram test was preformed to see if the vessel had changed, and to check the collateral blood flow. The test results indicated Moyamoya, an extremely rare brain disease. Moyamoya is a progressive, chronic disease that causes narrowing of arteries and the only intervention is surgery. After meeting with neurosurgeons at both Riverside and Ohio State, it was confirmed that Lindsey was in need of surgery.
After connecting online with other Moyamoya warriors, Lindsey learned about the Moyamoya Center at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. She reached out to for a free consolation with the nation’s leading experts and was accepted into the center for surgery. This news came while she was enjoying spring break with her family in Florida. Over the coming days, while enjoying a reprieve at the beach and pool, she began to schedule surgery.
World renowned neurosurgeon, Dr. Steinberg, who has been studying Moyamoya for 30 years, and who created the Moyamoya center, will be preforming the surgery. Lindsey will have a specialized MRI, cerebral angiogram, many pre-op appointments prior to surgery. The surgery will be a combination of direct and indirect bypasses at the Moyamoya Center on May 17th, 2022.
Lindsey has approached this diagnosis in a way that only she could — with an amazingly positive attitude, strength, extensive amounts of research, and of course…a healthy does of humor. She has lovingly named her support system “Team Brainhoff.” Many of you, Lindsey’s family and friends, have asked how you can follow along and hope this Caring Bridge helps you follow Lindsey as she heads to California.
