Dr. Helen Noble, " She never gave up on me"

I have been a patient of Dr. Nobles for nearly 30 years. In 1998 I took a pretty good fall on my husbands boat and in 1999 I flipped over the handle bars of my bicycle. I started having problems with dizziness, migraines, vomiting. After the second fall I began having more frequent migraines and dizziness. The headaches were so bad I would vomit. Then I started to have several other medical issues which included tingling, pins and needles numbness on the left side, bladder problems and the list goes on. Over time Dr. Noble ordered several MRI's, x-rays, blood work and I cant remember what other tests but I am sure there were more. So as the year progressed she could not find anything. I began to think I was crazy. But Dr. Noble told me I was not crazy that there was something wrong. My quality of life was suffering along with the ability to work. Finally after another MRI they found something called syringomyelia which causes holes to develop in your spinal cord called syrinx .When Dr. Noble called to tell me what she had found she said she had not seen this except in medical school and I needed to see a neurosurgeon. She contacted a Dr at JHU. However the cause of that was still unknown. The neurosurgeon worked with Dr. Noble and explained what they were to look for on the MRI. Finally a full diagnosis. I had Arnold Chiari Malformation I with syringomyelia. At this point it was summer 2000. It took almost a year to figure out what was happening to me. The neurosurgeon did my surgery where I had a C1 laminectomy with a dural patch. After some recovery time and OT/PT. My quality of life improved. She believed in me and always listened to me and still does. My point is Dr. Noble never gave up on me and I am eternally grateful that she did not. I think that she is a very knowledgeable physician who cares about her patients. She is like a friend to me and I will be sorry when she decides to retire. However in my book she has earned it. I am not a good writer or story teller. But this is my story.