A WREXHAM woman who had tingling in her fingers discovered her brain was "slipping out of her skull".

Nia Redman's symptoms started in 2019 when she began experiencing a tingling sensation in her hands.

But, mainly due to the Covid pandemic, she did not get a doctor's appointment until March 2022.

The 33-year-old said: "I was having tingly fingers. It was happening all the time so I went to the doctor, they thought it could be a carpal tunnel and I was referred to a specialist."

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Nia, a finance officer, said the doctors noticed a problem with her spine and she was admitted to the Walton Centre in Liverpool - which specialises in neurology.

She said: "Things moved quite quickly and by September, they were able to give me a formal diagnosis, although nothing could have prepared me for just how serious it was.

"I was diagnosed with Chiari malformation - which meant my brain was slipping out of my skull and pushing down into my spinal canal. It's something you never want in your life and it wasn't what I was expecting.

"I think it didn't really hit me until they started talking about what they were going to do and that I'd need surgery."

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It was also discovered that she had a cyst on her spine but following surgery, surgeons have found that it is not dangerous and will be monitored.

In December of last year, Nia underwent an operation where the surgeon removed a small section of bone in the back of the skull, relieving pressure by giving the brain more room.

They also removed the blockage around the cyst in her spine and patched up the area where her brain was slipping to stabilise it. The surgery was a success and Nia was discharged after four days in hospital but, once home, she suffered a leak of spinal fluid from the scar at the back of her head and was readmitted.

She said: "The recovery was actually going OK at first and I was home within four days, but unfortunately I had a leak. I ended up spending a few weeks in hospital and was there over Christmas.

"I normally spend the day with my mum, dad, brother and extended family. It's a big deal and I'm a big Christmas person so I was gutted to miss out but my family came to visit me on the day."

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Despite not being home for the holidays, Nia commented that the staff were "amazing" and made her "feel better with positivity" while she was there.

Nia left hospital in January 2023, and will need to return for a scan in 12 months, but said the results of her surgery were looking "positive".

The Leader: A scan shows the bottom of Nia's brain pushing through into the spinal column. A scan shows the bottom of Nia's brain pushing through into the spinal column. (Image: Nia Redman)

She said: "I’ll be forever grateful to everyone who looked after me, my friends who visited me or sent messages to keep me positive and still do every single day (you know who you are!) and my family who took the brunt of the stress and my tears."

Nia wanted to give back to the hospital, after spotting a poster while in hospital for a fundraiser walk, Nia set herself a challenge of walking 100,000 steps in May. Anyone wishing to donate can do so via https://bit.ly/3qmM6hK. 

She said: “Thanks to the staff at the Walton Centre, my results all look good and now I’m just getting monitored every few months with a scan, so I wanted to take on the walking challenge to raise money for them.

“The staff were absolutely amazing and the biggest reason I wanted to do the challenge was because I saw just how much they help people.

"The idea was to raise £100 by walking 100,000 steps, but I got competitive and ended up walking around 600,000 by the time the month ended." 

She has raised over £1,800 for the Walton Centre in the process. 

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