Swedish newspaper publishes the story of Arnold-Chiari Syndrome Type I patient

Published by ICSEB at 12 November, 2021

The case of a Swedish patient diagnosed with Neuro-Cranio-Vertebral Syndrome, Filum Disease, Arnold-Chiari Syndrome I and other associated pathologies, was published by the Örnsköldsviks Allehanda newspaper this past August.

Rebecca Hamrin, 51, who underwent surgery with the ICSEB team in June 2017, told the local outlet how it all started. In December 2016, she fainted while she was working at a paper mill and had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance, where she was admitted for a few days. There, she was diagnosed with Arnold-Chiari Syndrome Type I.

The clinical picture of the patient began to worsen quickly and that is why the doctors who treated her in Sweden proposed to do a craniectomy, but, as the risks of complications were high, the patient began to research online about possible treatments for her condition.

“I found the Institut Chiari in Barcelona, which had another solution to the problem,” the patient reported. In her interview at Örnsköldsviks Allehanda, she said that a week before surgery at the ICSEB, she had important balance, vision, audition problems and had difficulty eating and breathing. “I did not go to sleep, the last night before the operation, because I was afraid not to wake up again.”

Shortly after being operated by the ICSEB , “something had happened,” according to the patient’s account, “I could move my head, it was not so tense anymore.” The report says that in the last five years, Rebecca has had psychological support and has been in rehabilitation to recover. She explains that she took books with large letters from the children’s section of the library to practice reading, she practiced her fine motor skills by writing by hand and making her own jewellery, and she even joined a trekking group. At the end of 2020, Rebecca was able to return to her work part time.

The patient, according to the Swedish newspaper, is healthy and got a new job in 2021. She says that she sometimes she feels mild symptoms, but that she can go on. “I’ve really worked hard to get where I’m today.”

Find the full article in Swedish here: https://www.allehanda.se/artikel/operationen-i-barcelona-raddade-rebeccas-liv-hade-svart-att-bade-ata-och-andas-1