Depression & Halo Issue

The month of August, depression hit Kyle. He didn't feel like eating. He didn't want to get out of bed. He wouldn't leave the house. He stopped hooking up with his friends online. He suffered from headaches every day. He vomited every day. He couldn't sleep. Part of it is the halo, he wants out.

Kyle's voice became muffled again and he is having major issues swallowing solids again. He's also congested, he's fighting mucus buildup in his throat and chest.

Why is he feeling so bad? He did well on the steroids for his swollen spinal cord. But a week after he was done taking the meds he no longer was ok.

I think, the halo is the problem. It is messing with his psyche. He's been in the halo long enough.....since Nov. 8, 2011.

By-the-way.....Is it possible to outgrow a halo?

To me, it appears Kyle is outgrowing the halo. It appears the halo is pinning him in a slightly bent position now. He won't strand straight. I can only imagine how difficult it is to swallow with a short neck (Klippel Feil) that is fused and being forced down and inwards to his chest now. The halo needs to come off. But sadly it's not up to me.

His neurosurgeons had him get a MRI and CT scan in late August. After reviewing the scans they told us everything looked fine. His swollen spinal cord healed. The pin sites were ok. But they didn't say anything about the fusion. They told us 'see you in November for another follow-up.' What? November? What about getting Kyle out of this Halo? I had to let Kyle know he might not get the halo off until November now. He screams at me. I don't blame him. I scream with him.

So I took him to see his Pediatrician. He needs help for the vomiting, the headaches, the mucus. Kyle's pediatrician puts Kyle on meds for a possible infection. Kyle has been taking amoxicillian, Flonase, Albuterol, and QVar since the first week of September. It's helping slightly with the mucus problem and his headaches eased off a bit too.

Kyle's voice is my alarm to 'something is wrong'. Losing his voice was one of his first symptoms of Chiari, before we knew it was Chiari. So it concerns me when his voice starts to disappear again, as it did in July when he had the trauma to his spinal cord.

Strangely, his voice is now mostly muffled when he is in an upright position, when he is lying down he sounds clearer. Kyle says he feels better lying down. Hmmm......