On March 30th Annie Vana went into Children’s Hospital for surgery. Annie knew that this surgery would make her life easier, yet she was still scared. Annie is such a good role model so I decided to ask her some questions about her surgery.
Annie how did you find out you had to have surgery?
In August of 2017 I got into a car accident with my sister causing a concussion. After the concussion I had really bad head aches and they wouldn’t stop, so I went into Alison (Mercy’s trainer) and she said to go to the doctor. When I went to the doctor they said that they didn’t think it was anything relating to the concussion, so I had to get an MRI. Once I got the MRI I waited 2 weeks to get my results. When I got the results it said I had Chiari malformation type 1. Which means your brain is too low to my spine causing a lot of pressure. So they told me I had to get surgery.
What was your reaction when he said that?
I was really scared, but I mean anyone would be. All my friends and family were super supportive so that kind of helped with my anxiety about it.
What was your experience leading up for surgery?
Well as I got closer to the surgery I was even more nervous than before. I mean I did a pretty good job of distracting myself, but towards the end of me waiting for surgery there was nothing I could do to keep myself from thinking about it. It was nerve-wracking, but then they put me under and then I just woke up and it was over.
How did you feel after your surgery?
It was strange at first because I was a little loopy from all the pain killers, but after the pain killers went away I hurt really bad. But now I feel a lot better than I did and my headaches are less frequent so that’s good.
Is there anything that you would take away from your surgery?
Probably just to not take anything for granted. Before the surgery I took my health for granted, but now I always try to look on the bright side of things and appreciate every little thing.
As you can tell from reading this interview Annie has been through a lot, but that hasn’t stopped her from being positive and light hearted!
