Scary Car Accident Surgery Becomes A Great Experience
The Story of DENA HYMAS
After a car accident, Dena Hymas of Spanish Fork, Utah, experienced a host of unexpected issues, including ringing in the ears, double vision, balance issues, and even a loss of cognitive functions like spelling, math, and multitasking. Soon, additional symptoms like severe numbness in her hands and arms and pressure headaches became the norm.
Her family doctor ordered an MRI, and they found that her car accident had caused Chiari Malformations. This is a condition in which brain tissue extends into the spinal canal. It occurs, in some cases, when part of the skull is misshapen, which, in Dena’s case, was caused by her car accident.
Dena’s doctor referred her to Dr. John Edwards. When Dr. Edwards saw Dena’s MRI, he wanted to let her know as soon as possible that he could help her. To her surprise and delight, Dena received an unexpected personal phone call from Dr. Edwards on Christmas Eve. She was so impressed by his kindness and dedication to the point that he would call her during the holidays.
“When he told me I had to have surgery, I just cried.”
After consulting with Dr. Edwards a few weeks later and learning she needed surgery, Dena was afraid. She told Dr. Edwards, “I’ll just live with it rather than have surgery.” And for several months, she worked with speech therapists and other professionals to help her find other means of relief. But many of her symptoms never went away. The ringing in the ears, the headaches, the numbness in her hands and legs, and the pain in her hip were all just as bad. And the double vision and cognitive issues had not improved either.
Dena decided it was time to return to Dr. Edwards’s office. He assured her that with decompression surgery, about 70% of her problems would go away almost immediately. And the others would most likely improve over time.
During surgery, Dr. Edwards and his team made an incision in the back of her neck to access the spot in her skull responsible for her symptoms. After removing a small portion of bone, they cauterized the brain tissue that was entering her spinal column. It shrunk right up and out of the spinal column to correct the Chiari Malformations.
When Dena awoke in recovery after her procedure, she immediately said to her husband…
“My hands don’t hurt anymore, and they're not numb!”
“Are you serious?” was all he could say in surprise. Since surgery, she hasn’t had any numbness or pain in her hands or arms. Her double vision is gone. In fact, 95% of her long list of symptoms have improved or completely disappeared.
Dena expressed how grateful she was to Dr. Edwards and his staff for their kindness, attentiveness, and excellent bedside manner. She went into surgery nervous and unsure. But she came out feeling that it had been a really good experience due to the kind and attentive care she received.
“Watching a few recordings of the surgery I was about to have in Dr. Edwards’s app was really helpful.”
Dr. Edwards and his staff have gone to great lengths to record many procedures and educational videos about the procedures they perform and the conditions they treat. Hundreds of such videos are found inside the Summit Medical Institute smartphone app.
To access the Summit Medical Institute smartphone app, click here.
To make an appointment with Summit Brain, Spine, and Orthopedics, call 385.345.3560.
To read additional stories like Dena’s, click below.