Michelle Wharton, a dental hygienist and clinic owner from northern British Columbia, went from backcountry-athlete and busy mom to bedridden within months after a sudden neurological decline in late 2021. Across years of mislabels (vestibular migraine), missed findings, and “it’s incidental” shrugs, her symptoms escalated—blinding cranial pain and pressure, cognitive lapses, intermittent right-eye vision loss, and more. Canadian imaging later acknowledged a pineal cyst, but help never came. Michelle liquidated her practice, fundraised, and traveled to MUSC to see Dr. Patel. She had occipital craniotomy on Nov 20, 2023; within days the crushing head pressure, eye-movement pain, and other cyst-related symptoms lifted. At 3 months, ~80–90% of those issues remained resolved. Michelle still navigates separate, serious immune/neurologic diagnoses (POTS, MCAS, immunodeficiency, small fiber neuropathy), but says she’d “do the cyst surgery 100 times over.” This is a story of family, faith, community—and what it takes to be heard.

Notable quotes

• “Within two days of surgery—gone. The pressure and eye pain were just…gone.”
• “My kids said, ‘We want to meet the man who saved our mom’s life.’”
• “I’d do the surgery 100 times over.”

💡 Resources & Links:

Visit our website: pinealstories.com

Learn more about pineal cyst symptoms and advocacy

Share your story or contact us: pineal.stories@gmail.com

🎵 Credits:

Music: "What I Waited For" by Kikoru – Licensed via Epidemic Sound

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