The Chiari Treament Center is the winner!

Dr. Oro and pretty much EVERYONE I met at The Medical Center of Aurora was AMAZING! My appointment was at 10:00 AM and we didn't have to wait at all. Everyone was very thorough and detailed and seemed genuinely concerned about me. They were more than accommodating and considerate of the fact that I was there from out of state. (40% of their patients are).

At the appointment we met with the nurse practitioner who went over my medical history with me and then translated everything into medical language for the doctor. He came in and asked a few more questions, did some basic neurological "tests", and then went over next steps. He wanted MRIs of my thoracic and lumbar spine, as well as a x-ray of my entire spine since I have scoliosis. He wanted to do everything immediately since I was in town. Keep in mind that it's after 11:00 by this time and I have a 5:15 flight home.

Since they were squeezing us in at the Imaging Center we had to wait an hour, for the hour long MRI. Mind you this is all happening during lunch time and everyone is still very pleasant and helpful. I finish the MRI (which I think has to be the world's LOUDEST MRI machine - it was my third MRI in 2 months so I consider myself qualified to make that statement) and they have arranged to do the x-rays on site, rather than send me to yet another center for the x-ray of my entire spine in one shot (at the facility I was at, they had to do it in 2 shots). After that they uploaded everything onto their network and we headed back to Dr. Oro's office for my unscheduled follow-up appointment. We waited 15 - 20 minutes and then met with the doctor. While we waited we talked to a lady from Kansas that was there for her second surgery because her first doctor didn't do the first one correctly. She showed me her scar and it was impossible to see despite the fact that her hair was cut very short. YAY!

Dr. Oro was VERY thorough and explained everything in layman's terms and answered all of our questions. While sitting there, I decided that I was definitely having my surgery at TCTC! My mom agreed, and it's not very often that we agree with each other without some level of debate. We scheduled the surgery for OCTOBER 2ND. Shelly went over EVERYTHING with me on the spot with instructions on what I needed to do before I arrived back there for surgery, along with ALL of the paperwork and forms I would need. As we were leaving we met the office manager who grew up in Southern CA just minutes away from where I grew up and still live.

We left Dr. Oro's office at 3:15 and made it to the airport exactly in time to return our rental car, eat a quick meal at the Taco Bell by security, go to the restroom and arrive at the gate 5 minutes before boarding. How cool is that? Everything just sort of fell into place and seemed right.

The absolute clincher is that my wonderful friend Margot and her husband Aaron live in Highlands Ranch about 15 minutes away from TCTC. They have generously offered to allow me/us to stay with them before and after my surgery and for my follow-up visit 8 weeks post-op. They are a lot of fun and excellent hosts and made me feel at home, away from home.

I've cancelled my other appointments in CA and have had zero second thoughts. I'm actually kind of excited to have the surgery and see how my quality of life will improve!

Not sure if anyone is interested in the surgery details...if you are, let me know and I will email them to you. Dr. Oro is now using a titanium plate as part of the procedure...I think it's kinda cool that I'll be a "metal head"! :)

Some additional details:
-I have at least a 31mm herniation putting me in the top tier (of course, I go all out when I do anything!)
-I may have a slight syrinx, but he is not concerned with it.
-Dr. Oro was unable to conclude that my Chiari caused my MIA period, but he was also unable to rule it out...