Brain Surgeon Saves Young Mother from Illness That Nearly Killed His Own Mother

This Mothers Day holds special meaning for John Whapham, MD, neurologist at Loyola University Health System LUHS Whapham recently performed a life-saving procedure on a Chicago mother of two who had the same brain disorder that nearly claimed his own mothers life 26 years ago

We share an incredible connection, Dr Whapham said of his patient

When John Whapham was 12, his mother was diagnosed with a brain disorder called an Arteriovenous malformation AVM At that time, in the 1980s, a treatment for this illness had not yet been identified

The incidence of AVM in America is 014 percent, meaning there is 1 case per every 700 persons, Dr Whapham explained An AVM is best described as a tangled mass of blood vessels in the brain

Today John Whapham, MD, a neurosurgeon at LUHS and director of its neurointerventional program, routinely repairs AVMs and his patients typically go home the next day Dr Whapham recently repaired an AVM in Kimberly Johnson, 29, a Navy veteran, whose story struck a familiar chord with her doctor

A Tale of Two Mothers

Thirty years ago, Whaphams mother, Cecelia Whapham suffered from relentless headaches and other distressing symptoms

I felt like I was riding in a boat in rough waters or on a moving train trying to remain upright, Cecelia Whapham recalled

But little help could be found After the family traveled across the country in search of specialists who might treat her, she was advised by one leading hospital to go home and put her affairs in order

Dr Whapham recalls that his family went to Toledo, Ohio, so that his mother could receive an MRI, back then a cutting-edge diagnostic test, which led to her diagnosis of AVM

Back in Detroit, the family found a neurosurgeon who was pioneering new techniques and who was willing to operate

He told my mother that there were good chances that she might die, be blind and be paralyzed, Dr Whapham remembers But our family knew she would die without the surgery so we felt it was worth a try

In an 11-hour procedure, the surgeon removed the entire right portion of Cecelia Whaphams skull and laboriously repaired the malformation The anesthesiologist told me not to worry, that he would do the worrying for me, she recalls His mother spent more than three months recovering from the revolutionary procedure

We would give my son money to buy comic books or candy and he would spend it on colorful scarves to hide my wounds and scars, she remembers My husband traveled internationally and across the country for business – that was our source of insurance and moneyand we had no relatives nearby John spent his hours at the hospital, after school doing his homework and eating most meals in the cafeteria

When he wasnt with his mother, the determined pre-teen would read medical text books to try to better understand what was happening to her This was the time when he felt the first call to become a neurologist

Now almost three decades later, Cecelia Whapham, a retired secondary English teacher, volunteers her time to Wayne State University School of Medicine Her son, Dr Whapham, graduated from the University of Notre Dame and from medical school at the esteemed neuroscience center, Wayne State University

A familiar story

Its no wonder that Dr Whapham took a very personal interest in the case of his patient, Kimberly Johnson, who was in the Navy and stationed aboard an aircraft carrier when she first got the news about her diagnosis

This young mother had the same illness that my own mother had, Dr Whapham said

I learned I had a congenital AVM when I was five months pregnant with my first child, said Johnson My parents and my husband had helped me through years of headaches and seizures

In January, Dr Whapham performed the same procedure that threatened the life of his mother on the 29-year-old Navy veteran But the technology and tools for the surgery have vastly improved I use incredibly sophisticated equipment to map the brains malformation in advance, and then make very small incisions with minimal blood loss, he explained The body is entered through a needle placed in the femoral artery and guided to the area of operation through angiographic mapping techniques In Johnsons case, we used neurological glue to seal off her AVM leaving no trace we were ever there Dr Whapham recalls the sharp contrast to treatment for the same disorder performed decades earlier When my mother had pioneering brain surgery, the surgeon basically took off a large portion of the skull, called a craniotomy, to access the brain There was significant brain manipulation and blood loss, and it was hit and miss unraveling the tangled mass of vessels, he said

This is the ninth surgery for Johnson But it is her first with Dr Whapham Dr Whapham took extraordinary care of me he visited me constantly in the hospital when I was recovering and I know it is because he personally understands what this horrible disease means firsthand, Johnson said I am thinking of his mother this holiday and I want to thank her and tell her that because of her, my children have their mother

Source: Loyola University Health System

Newest Health Care

Latest Solutions In Illnesses Prevention