Happy Birthday to Me

This year for my birthday I got to have a surgery that wound up saving my life.

For those of you who don't know, for the past 7 years I've had a lump in my neck that, when disturbed, caused pain and numbness in my arm, neck, and shoulder. For years we tried to get a diagnosis, and, being a singer, my biggest fear (of course) was needing to operate in or near my neck.

With my good-luck blanket waiting for anesthesia

Over the summer, I saw a bunch of doctors who eventually gave me the diagnosis that led to surgery: thoracic outlet syndrome (Thank you Ryan and Dr. Louis C. Rose of Bronx, NY!). I saw a vascular specialist, Dr. Mayank Patel, who referred me to one of the best vascular surgeons who actually specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome: Dr. Richard Green.

Thank you Dr. Green!

I had something called a cervical rib; an extra rib in my neck that I was apparently born with. As it grew it put increasing amounts of pressure on my brachial plexus (the center of all the nerves that run through my shoulder and arm) which led to numbness and pain and my brachial plexus was stretched over this bone and compressed against my clavicle. This phenomenon is generally called thoracic outlet syndrome (check it out on wikipedia).

Immediately after surgery

The doctors knew my subclavian artery and jugular vein were adjacent to the rib, but before surgery they did not think I had any issues with either of them being pinched or damaged. When they went in to perform the surgery to remove it they found it actually HAD been damaging my subclavian artery and I would have suffered from an aneurysm in a few months. Dr. Green took out the rib, repaired the artery, and now I just wait it out while my nerves get back to normal, which will take some time.

Leaving the Hospital

So, this year I may not have had much of a chance to celebrate my birthday, but I was given the gift of being able to celebrate many more. Every day I wake up now feels like a blessing and a gift and I look forward to making the most of each and every one.

Plus, I don't even have to do anything for Halloween.

My Zipper Neck :)