Training for her upcoming 5K, Sue went for a run one night in November 2015. She considered herself to be rather healthy and fit; after all, she was a triathlete. During her run, Sue began to experience intense pain in her face. Her first instinct was that the pain was caused by the blustery cold November weather; nothing to worry about…at least not yet.
Sue thought the pain might subside after a few weeks, but was surprised to find that it had only gotten worse. Believing that it could be due to a more serious condition, she visited a local neurologist, who eventually diagnosed her with trigeminal neuralgia, a rare neurological condition that effects the trigeminal nerve, one of the main nerves in the head.
Sue was given strong medication for the pain. However, the medications caused Sue to experience drowsiness and an extreme lack of energy.
Between the prevailing pain and lack of energy from the medications, I found it difficult to get through my daily tasks," says Sue. "I didn't even want to get off of the couch most days. It was awful."
Sue endured the debilitating pain and adverse medication side effects for more than a year before she decided to research other options. Her research led her to Microvascular Decompression Surgery, a procedure in which a neurosurgeon performs a crainiectomy to open the skull and expose the base of the brainstem to insert a small sponge between the compressing vessel and the trigeminal nerve. This allows the nerve to be removed from the pressure and pulsating blood vessel without causing damage to the nerve and also relieves the pain symptoms. After speaking with her physician, family and friends about the surgery, Sue received a recommendation to see Dr. John Y.K. Lee, a neurosurgeon at Penn Medicine.
Despite feeling like surgery was her best option, Sue struggled with making the final decision.
"I was scared to have the surgery," says Sue. "But I couldn't stand the pain or the medications. I finally visited Dr. Lee a full 18 months after receiving my initial diagnosis."
At her first appointment with Dr. Lee, Sue knew that he had the experience necessary to treat her condition. Dr. Lee performed the surgery in April 2016.
Six months following her surgery, Sue is back to her normal active lifestyle. In fact, she recently achieved a major milestone when she won her first ever gold medal running in a 5K.
"I never placed in a race in my life, so the medal was even sweeter," she says.
Sue credits the expertise, professionalism, and care from Dr. Lee and his neurosurgical team with her success. Today, Sue is living both medication and pain free and keeping her eyes on the finish line, always envisioning her next gold medal.