Julie Carter and her three daughters all have Chiari malformation, a rare abnormality at the base of the brain that results in brain tissue extending into the spinal canal, which causes severe headaches. Nearly a half a million dollars in debt from brain surgeries, they lived in a refurbished chicken coop. An advocate for Chiarians and founder of Chiari People, Julie and her family have a new home courtesy of Extreme Makeover Home Edition.
Chiari has more than 85 possible symptoms and is frequently misdiagnosed as migraine or a host of other headache disorders. Other conditions associated with Chiari include syringomyelia, scoliosis, tethered spinal cord and pseudotumor cerebri.
The show’s executive producer said they received more nominations for Julie than they ever have for any one person. The builder of the home has an excellent profile of Julie Carter and day-by-day photos of the project. Some places to learn about Chiari malformation:
If you know of good Chiari resources, please leave a comment.
The show airs on ABC this Sunday, October 21.