Jennifer Harding shared her thoughts with us about how she plans to participate in #duradash2022.
About Jennifer
I’m 44 years old, and my leak started when I was 43. I woke up one day a completely different person with a severe positional headache. Before this, I had no history of headache. I was bed-bound with an array of symptoms—nausea, vomiting, “underwater hearing,” neck pain. My first ER trip, I was diagnosed with “tension headache.” My second trip to the ER, I was admitted as the neurologist said they had never seen anything like my situation before—fluid collection along the spine with no trauma. Finally, I went to a specialty center, where I had two fibrin/blood patches. These ultimately failed as it turned out my leak was caused by a bone spur at T1-T2. I went to a different center for surgery on March 16th and I am getting back to fully living life again.
what are you doing for #duradash2022?
I am walking three miles a day, five days a week for #duradash in celebration of life again, in thanksgiving for all the medical professionals and online friends who helped me, and in solidarity with those still awaiting their healing.
What do you want people to know about spinal CSF leak?
Spinal CSF leak is a very difficult diagnosis that requires much fortitude to endure. It is all-encompassing: mental, emotional, and physical. Self-advocacy and finding a community is key in the journey. And as the leak diagnosis is all-encompassing, so must be the treatment—the physical, the emotional, and the mental. There is much work, education, and advancement to be done!
What research on spinal CSF leak do you hope to see in future?
It would be amazing to be able to fix leaks without major neurosurgery. In addition, I’d like to see improvements in expediting the diagnostic and treatment process.
Visit duradash.causevox.com/jenn to support Jennifer’s #duradash efforts!
Further reading:
#duradash spotlight: Bridget Janney