Some of the best advice I can give you at this point, is to be pro-active in your health. Read what you can from respected sources to better familarize yourself with the conditions your facing. Even if you dont "understand" all the jargon your doctor throws at you at the time, makes notes and actively search out answers to your questions. Or have your wife do it if your not able to at the time due to health or fatigue.

I really think there is a fine line between actually understanding something, and having it make sense. However, during your researching, keep your mind open, dont zero in on one thing and get fixated on it. Make sure that every definitive diagnoses makes sense. Even after almost eight years of living with and researching about Chiari, I'm still learning something new every day about the condition.

Just keep your hope and faith alive. When I was first diagnosed with Chiari, and told about surgery, I really thought life as I knew it and understood it was over for me. However, I will never be able to express the amount of blessings I have recieved since surgery, that I probably would have never stopped long enough to even recognize in my "previous life". Remember, this is not the end. This is the rebirthing of the new you. Many, many times, birth is a painful and unsetteling process. But the miracles we can reap afterward are endless, if we are only open to the possibilities.

Keep us informed of your progress!!! And God Bless You and Yours!!!

Dawn