Oklahoma walk spotlights brain disorder
HEALTHUncommon malady involves chronic pain in sufferer’s spine, head

Taffiney Sherril’s brain is literally too big for her head.

That’s no joke; it’s a painful medical condition known as Chiari malformation. Since few Americans are familiar with it, supporters of the condition in Oklahoma are staging an awareness walk this weekend.

The birth defect causes a structural malformation in the cerebellum portion of the brain, which causes it to protrude outside the skull at the rear base of the neck. Because the spinal cord and the central nervous system are affected, the condition involves chronic pain.

Chiari is a congenital disease, Sherril said, but is triggered by a traumatic event. The Weatherford accountant cites a gymnastic accident when she was 10 as the possible cause of onset. An auto accident in 1999, when she was 28, led to an MRI, which revealed the Chiari condition. Currently, she is testing for possible surgery, during which a portion of her skull will be removed to ease the compression of her brain.

Sherril said any activity that increases her blood pressure — sneezing, coughing, laughing, bright lights, noises — sends spinal fluid rushing to her head.

Sherril said 300,000 cases of Chiari are known in the United States, with about 15 in Oklahoma.

She is treated by neurologists at the OU Medical Center, but she said most doctors are unfamiliar with the disease, and those who have it are left to do their own research.

Nationally, an Internet support group helps victims. Sherril and others are trying to start one in Oklahoma.

A Chiari awareness walk will focus on him and will attempt to raise funds for his family. Registration begins at 9 a.m. today at Shawnee Mall on Interstate 40. The walk will last about two hours.

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