Flickr Fotodownload: chase_906a

A front view of my head after a craniocervical fusion in 2/06. The plate in the middle is actually on the front of my neck (spine) with the screws faced backwards. That's from my three level (C3-C6) cervical spinal fusion in 12/05. The side are screws coming from the back facing forward, & are part of my craniocervical fusion done in 2/06. That surgery fused me from my skull all the way down to C6. Why? A condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome that affects connective tissue. In short, my joints are messed up... my neck wasn't strong enough to hold up my head & everything was crumbling & compressing my brainstem.

A side view of my head after a craniocervical fusion in 2/06. The plate on the right is the front of my neck (spine) with the screws faced backwards. That's from my three level (C3-C6) cervical spinal fusion in 12/05. The plate on the left side are screws coming from the back facing forward, & are part of my craniocervical fusion done in 2/06. That surgery fused me from my skull all the way down to C6. (The numbers indicate the vertebrae. C1 isn't labeled because it was mostly removed. Why? A condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome that affects connective tissue. In short, my joints are messed up... my neck wasn't strong enough to hold up my head & everything was crumbling & compressing my brainstem.