“Every patient deserves a treatment plan tailored to their unique needs,” said Dr. Cheerag Upadhyaya. “Given Chrissie’s circumstances, we wanted to preserve her mobility and independence while relieving the pressure on her spinal cord. Laminoplasty offered the motion-sparing approach she needed to regain her quality of life.”
When Chrissie was just three months old, she contracted viral encephalitis, a rare but serious condition that caused her brain to
swell, leading to extensive cranial and facial nerve damage. This profoundly affected her ability to move her eyes, swallow, and even gag.
Chrissie spent six weeks in the hospital before transferring to a children’s rehab center in New Jersey, where she stayed for nearly a year and a half. “She didn’t come home until she was almost two,” recalled her mother, Mary Ann.
Even after returning home, Chrissie faced a grueling schedule of daily hospital visits to address her neurological deficits. The viral encephalitis left her with hearing loss and permanent facial nerve damage. While she could see with her left eye, her right eye remained closed, requiring special glasses with a wire mechanism to hold her eyelid open. Doctors predicted Chrissie would never walk, but at 4 ½ years old, she defied expectations and took her first steps.
Chrissie’s resilience didn’t stop there. Over time, she regained her ability to swallow and speak. She attended school, graduated high school, and earned a degree in English from the College of St. Elizabeth in New Jersey.
In 2020, Chrissie and her family moved to North Carolina. Shortly after, she began experiencing new health challenges. She developed issues with her stomach and throat, felt increasingly unsteady on her feet, and eventually lost the ability to walk in a straight line. While Chrissie had always needed physical and occupational therapy, she had remained mobile until then. By 2024, she relied on a walker and had developed neuropathy in her hands.
In June 2024, Chrissie was referred to spinal neurosurgeon Dr. Cheerag Upadhyaya. After thorough evaluations, she was diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis, a condition in which the spinal canal narrows, compressing the spinal cord and nerves. This explained her loss of mobility, hand weakness, and ongoing pain.
Given Chrissie’s history and needs, Dr. Upadhyaya recommended a laminoplasty, a motion-sparing surgery designed to relieve spinal cord pressure without limiting neck mobility. Chrissie and her parents were immediately drawn to Dr. Upadhyaya’s warmth and compassion. “We loved him right away,” Mary Ann said. “He wanted to protect Chrissie’s movement and independence, which meant the world to us.”
On August 7, 2024, Chrissie underwent a 3 ½-hour laminoplasty at UNC Hillsborough. The procedure involved placing small hinges in her spine to relieve pressure on her spinal cord. Mary Ann praised both Dr. Upadhyaya and the hospital staff. “We’ve been to some of the best hospitals in New York and New Jersey, but this experience was exceptional,” she said.
Chrissie spent a week in recovery before transitioning to the rehabilitation floor, where she worked intensively with therapists. “The therapists made me feel like I could do anything,” Chrissie said. “They were so kind and encouraging.”
The results were almost immediate. Chrissie noticed significant improvement in her hands and no longer requires daily pain medication. At her follow-up appointment on Halloween, Dr. Upadhyaya watched with pride as Chrissie walked down the hallway.
Now back home, Chrissie is regaining her independence. She can dress and bathe herself and uses a walker to move around the house. For the first time in years, she can go for walks without relying on her mother to steady her. “The benefits outweigh the setbacks,” Chrissie said, reflecting on her journey.
Full recovery from laminoplasty can take up to two years, but Chrissie is already determined to keep moving forward. Her daily walks symbolize her regained freedom and resilience, a testament to her courage and the power of motion-sparing surgery.
Story by Makenzie Hardy, Marketing Coordinator, Department of Neurosurgery