Azalea E. Butler's story
Dr. Walker has performed two miraculous surgeries on Azalea. In 2005, Azalea would cry and experience somewhat severe pain/ discomfort when she was placed on her tummy and arched her head up. Azalea could only drink formula and experienced difficulty swallowing. Even pureed food with the consistency of baby food would cause her to vomit regularly and gag.
Decompression surgery was performed with the goal of providing more space for the brain stem, spinal cord, and descended cerebellar components. This can help relieve or stop the progression of the syrinx and/or symptoms, by decompressing nerve tissue and restoring normal CSF flow around and behind the cerebellum.
After her surgery, all of Azalea’s eating issues were resolved. While Azalea was still recovering in the hospital post surgery, she was able to eat noodles and toddler food, and that was so exciting to see! After that, she could arch her head up without any difficulties or pain.
In 2007, Azalea started experiencing drop attacks and her balance became unsteady. Dr. Walker inserted a shunt between her shoulder blades in August 2007, and since then, Azalea has not had any drop attacks and her syrinx has disappeared.
Our family is Hispanic and Dr. Walker is very respectful of cultural issues. He is not only a gifted neurosurgeon, but has an amazing bedside manner. It is evident that he cares deeply about his patients, and I especially appreciate that he is always willing to listen to the "mommy opinion." And little Azalea just adores him!