Thank you so much for caring about Tessa. Her health struggles have been long and complex. She has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Dysautonomia, Chiari 1 Malformation Syndrome, probably Ehlers Danlos and the neurologist also suspects an auto immune disease affecting her nervous system. That's a heavy load for a teenager to carry.
On August 14th she will be having decompression brain surgery. Part of the base of her brain has been pushed into her spinal cord blocking the flow of spinal fluid. During the surgery part of the back of her skull will be removed and a "pouch" will be constructed to make room for that part of her brain. She will be in the PICU the first night then will probably spend 3 more nights in the hospital. Her recovery process will be long. You can send words of encouragement, pictures or video messages to her via this site if you wish.
CaringBridge is a nonprofit social network dedicated to helping family and friends communicate with and support loved ones during a health journey. Learn more about CaringBridge.
