Skype Appointment with The Chiari Institute

Although I have had two surgeries at The Chiari Institute in New York I have never had a Skype appointment before! I sent Dr. Rekate my MRI's in January, but due to his own surgery he was unable to meet with me until March. The appointment went very, very well! Dr. Rekate is one of the nicest doctors I have ever met. He cares about not only his patient's health, but there well being overall. He wanted to ask about how both my husband and I are doing and was excited to hear the new things in our lives! He was extremely please with the progress I have made and the symptoms that I no longer have. I turned my head to look at my husband, who was sitting next to me, and he was amazed at the degree of mobility that I have! Most patients lose a significant amount of mobility after a fusion (mine is skull to the second cervical vertebra) and although I have a tiny decrease in my range of motion I do not notice it functionally at all! Overall Dr. Rekate says my MRI looks "perfect"! He does not see any signs of early arthritis, disk degeneration, or spinal cord damage. I was extremely relieved to hear that everything looked ok! Dr. Rekate also asked if he could have his research assistant contact me and discuss exactly what symptoms have gone away and which have persisted. As I have discussed in a previous post Dr. Rekate actually named a syndrome after me called Sara Syndrome. I am so grateful for the research he continues to do on complex patients like me because one day he just might find out the cause of Sara Syndrome which will help us know how to treat it better. I will send Dr. Rekate MRI's again next year as I like to have him take a look once a year to make sure everything looks ok. Until then it is nice to know that neurosurgery is not something I need to think about right now :D