|
Basketball, bike riding, astronomy and Nintendo are just some of Trenton's interests. The day we spoke, he had ridden his bike for over an hour.
Trenton was only three years old when he was diagnosed, and he does not remember much. He recalls trying to color and not being able to hold the crayon. Within a few short days, Trenton progressed from loss of control of his hand to paralysis on the right side of his body. Vomiting and a severe headache quickly followed.
Apnea was the first diagnosis. Trenton was not breathing at regular intervals. As a result, his oxygen saturation was dropping to critically low levels. Next, an MRI revealed that he had a Chiari Malformation. His brain stem and spinal cord were severely compressed. A posterior fossa decompression was performed the next morning.
Initially, the surgery seemed successful. However, nearly a year later, a follow-up MRI inadvertently scanned a lower area of his spinal cord. This area had not been imaged the previous year. This scan indicated a syrinx, and Trenton was diagnosed with syringomyelia in addition to Chiari.
Shunting surgery was thoroughly explored and discussed at length. However, because of the possible complications that can result from this surgery, Trenton's parents decided against any type of shunting process at this time. Unfortunately, over the next year, Trenton began complaining of pain every day and also suffered fatigue. Now, shunting seemed to be the lesser of the two possible problems, and the procedure was performed.
While this surgery did not result in any additional complications, it did not drain the syrinx. A CINE MRI was done and detailed poor flow behind Trenton's cerebellum. Trenton underwent yet another surgery, a complete dissection of the cerebral tonsils.
This third surgery did the trick! The syrinx collapsed, and to this day, Trenton is asymptomatic. He experiences some pain by the scars from the stitches, but the doctors have told him this is normal.
"I am really glad that they came out right," Trenton said, referring to the surgeries. He remembers very little about the pain, the loss of function, the operations or his recovery. He does remember that he couldn't walk after the surgeries. He put it very simply, "I know that I could not walk correctly, and now I can do everything normally."
Trenton believes this lack of memory may be a blessing, especially for children. He feels kids have a good chance of getting better. "If they can't understand, they can't think bad things," he explained. The power of positive thinking from a 12-year-old's perspective!
The only physical restriction placed on Trenton was that he can't play tackle football because of the stitches in his neck. Other than that, he can forget he has SM and Chiari most of the time, but once a year, he needs to remember. Due to the nature of the disorders, Trenton will be monitored for the rest of his life with annual MRIs. Most of his past MRIs were done under sedation due to his young age. However, for the past two years, he has been awake for this annual ritual. Without the sedation, he hasn't been able to sleep through them. He remarked, "The noise keeps me awake. There is only a 30-second lapse between scans." Trenton thinks MRIs are boring, but looking for the positive, he continued, "I like looking at the white wall."
In addition to biking, basketball and Nintendo, Trenton enjoys camping and hiking. His family has a camping trailer, and he enjoys a yearly trip to Inks State Park in Texas. According to Trenton, Inks State Park has great hiking. There's also a pond where they go swimming and lots of cacti.
"School is okay," Trenton nonchalantly remarked. Summer vacation time might make school seem like a distant memory now, but Trenton excels in math and science. He wants to be an astronomer when he grows up. "I know all the answers for the space unit in school," he stated.
September 13, 2002 is Trenton Zahler's 13th birthday, and he will celebrate it without SM/Chiari symptoms. His story and strong positive beliefs are a source of hope and inspiration for many.
|
