One day while at Water Polo practice, Jadon’s (JJ) right arm suddenly went completely “dead” and lost feeling from his shoulder all the way to his fingertips. His family met with Dr. Anirudh Sharma to address this concerning issue. After a short stint of physical therapy with no improvement, JJ‘s mother took him for a follow up consult with Dr. Sharma.

Dr. Sharma decided to take immediate action to escalate Jadon‘s case by conducting an MRI. The results of this study showed that JJ had a spinal cord syrinx that descended throughout the entire length of his spinal cord. Ultimately, it was understood that the syrinx was the result of a Chiari malformation in his skull.

In a short period of time, only two weeks, from Dr. Sharma‘s intervention until surgery, JJ had a successful brain surgery that corrected the problem, prevented further progression, and restored feeling and use of his right arm.

Today, JJ has returned to sport and been given a clean bill of health from the neurosurgery team. Dr. Sharma‘s action at a critical point in JJ‘s healthcare journey was the pivot point that led to a correct diagnosis and swift medical intervention.