A single mother in East Idaho who has endured extreme health challenges got a huge Christmas surprise from a Secret Santa with a generous heart.
Crystal’s life is dedicated to raising and providing for her three teenagers, but she has walked a difficult road in the past few years, East Idaho News reported Tuesday.
While she was working at a cancer center in 2017, a doctor noticed she kept tripping and losing her balance. He sent her for an MRI which revealed she had Chiari malformation with pseudo-cerebri tumor, meaning there was pressure around her brain and spinal cord due to excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
CSF fluid cushions the brain and spinal cord for protection during movement, and it also delivers nutrients, and helps removes waste, per the Cleveland Clinic.
“Adults have about 150 milliliters or 5 ounces of CSF in their bodies. This is just enough fluid to fill a teacup,” the site read.
Surgeons removed part of Crystal’s skull to relieve the pressure but she suffered from headaches and began to overproduce CSF. She eventually had shunts placed in her brain to help move the fluid.
Her recovery was long and hard after five brain surgeries. Doctors later removed the shunts but during that surgery, she endured several strokes. However, Crystal is doing better and the CSF production in her body has normalized as a result of the healing process.
When she finally went back to work, both of her vehicles went out of commission. However, Crystal did not know it but Secret Santa heard her story and wanted to help.
He sent East Idaho News’s Nate Eaton and his team to give her a new Toyota Rav4 and $1,000 to cover the insurance and registration. She was shocked when Eaton showed up at her workplace but was able to tell him she was doing okay despite everything.
She was visibly emotional when she opened the gift box containing the car key and the check. “Oh my gosh. Thank you guys,” she said.
Crystal could not hold back the tears once she sat down in the driver’s seat. “Thank you. I’m at a loss for words,” she told Eaton.
Social media users shared their thoughts on the touching video, one person writing, “This woman is a living, breathing miracle. God Bless You and I pray you continue to completely heal.”
“So pleased for her. Well done Secret Santa,” someone else commented.
