In January 2014, Mollie Hudson and her husband, Rick, 在巴黎度过他们梦想假期的第一天:在法国阿尔卑斯山滑雪. But instead of taking on challenging trails, the couple from North Muskegon, Michigan, found themselves facing a whole new set of obstacles.

在登上前往滑雪胜地的火车前，莫丽在酒店享用早餐时，突然发作了 stroke. As a nurse practitioner, Mollie knew the signs of stroke. 她所经历的头晕、重影和言语混乱都是典型的症状.

“我怀疑是中风，但又觉得自己太年轻了，”当时49岁的莫丽回忆说.

在巴黎一家医院住了五天，在酒店休息了两天, Mollie was more than ready to get home to Michigan. 她不顾医生让她在巴黎待30天的建议，和里克坐飞机回家了. 与初级保健医生的预约导致了与眼科医生和神经科医生的预约，因为莫丽仍然有头痛和平衡问题.

Test results prompted doctors to consider moyamoya这是一种由大脑底部动脉狭窄引起的罕见疾病. Results from an angiogram confirmed the diagnosis. 

Rare Condition Requires Expertise

Moyamoya在日语中是“烟雾”的意思，描述了当正常血管变窄并阻塞时，在大脑底部形成的微小侧支血管团块的样子. 新的侧支血管是大脑补偿动脉阻塞和血流量减少的方式. 如果没有足够的侧支血管发育，反复中风就会发生. Surgery is the only way to provide more blood flow to the brain.

“I looked up moyamoya, and it was scary,” says Mollie. “我可以看出手术是高度专业化的，并不是我想要的频率或专业知识.”

给她做血管造影的放射科医生告诉她，约翰霍普金斯医院是美国治疗这种疾病经验最丰富的两家医院之一. The neurosurgical team at the Johns Hopkins Cerebrovascular Center 每年为烟雾病进行80到100次手术，并进行研究，学习治疗这种疾病的新方法.

Mollie contacted Johns Hopkins USA, 医院的医疗礼宾服务，帮助马里兰州以外的推荐十大正规网赌平台与约翰霍普金斯大学的专家和治疗联系起来, and was referred to neurosurgeon Judy Huang, M.D. After reviewing Mollie’s medical records, 黄医生认为莫莉适合做手术，并在3月23日安排了术前会诊, 2014, with surgery tentatively scheduled for March 26.

莫莉说:“我打了第一个电话，不到三周就进了公司。. “I expected it to take at least a couple of months.” 

尽管美国约翰霍普金斯大学帮助协调外地推荐十大正规网赌平台的交通和住宿, Mollie and Rick drove from Michigan, 在宾夕法尼亚州和莫丽的兄弟夫妇一起过夜, 2.5 hours from Johns Hopkins.

Reality of the Disease Hits

Unfortunately, 预约那天早上在医院大厅等候的时候, Mollie began having the same symptoms she experienced in Paris. She was having another stroke.

“It was France all over again,” says Mollie. “但我想，如果你要中风的话，我现在处在最好的状态.”

Mollie met Huang later that night, from a hospital bed.

“She came in at 9 o’clock and spent almost two hours with me, explaining the surgery, going over risks — everything,” recalls Mollie.

黄解释说，莫莉需要更多的侧支血管来弥补她大脑两侧的血管阻塞. The procedure, called encephaloduroarteriomyosynangiosis (EDAMS), 增加现有的侧支血管，为堵塞的血管输送血液.

“We don’t disturb the previous collaterals,” explains Huang. “This surgery is a booster.”

During the procedure, 外科医生从颅骨外移动一条为头皮和周围组织供血的动脉，并将其连接到大脑上. 动脉具有刺激新血管发育的生长因子. 此外，用于咀嚼的部分肌肉以及支撑组织也会被移动. Mollie had blocked arteries on both sides of her head, so Huang would perform the procedure on each side, three months apart.

“如果我不做手术，我中风的次数会更多，”莫丽说. “Both my parents suffered multiple strokes. 在看到他们的经历后，我知道我必须做手术. Dr. 黄解释了一切，回答了问题，一只手也没有放在门把手上，”莫丽说. “Rick wasn’t crazy about surgery, but once he talked to Dr. Huang, he felt better.”

Team Effort

Three months later, 在第二次手术成功后回家之前，她在哥哥家呆了一小段时间, they all toasted Huang “for giving us our Mollie back.一年后，测试证实新的动脉已经发育并开始发挥作用.

在第一次脑部手术后，她感觉比预期的要好得多, Mollie relaxed just days after at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

Huang and Mollie both give the Johns Hopkins team credit.

“脑血管中心拥有丰富的专业知识，包括一个来自放射科的团队, anesthesiology, nursing — who support patients from start to finish,” says Huang.

Mollie seconds the praise. “我有一个很棒的外科医生和很好的支持——每个人都很专业，尊重和善良.”

Learn more about Moyamoya.