Beth Guthrie writes Hi Dear Westtown Classmates! I will be attending the reunion in May and am looking forward to  seeing many of you. Beth (on right), with a dear friend on a cold day in March In the fall of 1995 David Burke and I turned our seperation into a divorce. We both live in the Ithaca area and relaxedly keep in touch around our sons, common interests  and health related issues. Our older son, Jeremy, (Westtown '95) is getting married to a wonderful woman, Charmagne Campbell- Patton high up in the Rockey Mountains of Colorado on August 7th, my 63rd birthday. Their home is in Minneapolis, MN. Jeremy is going to school working to get a second BS degree, this one in structural engineering. Charmagne is director of an office for a non profit which creates opportunities for middle and high school students to learn about conditions and situations which affect large areas of the world. Last year's topic was migration of people. This year they are addressing water. Taylor and Jeremy Our younger son, Taylor is with his equally amazing woman partner, Alyssa Froman. They live and just bought a house in Shrewsbury, MA.  Taylor works at The New England Center For Children in Wooster, a school primarily for children with autism. He earned his Master's degree in Advance Psychology from Simmons College last spring while working full time. Alyssa manages a Simon Pierce store in Boston. She has a Masters degree in Wildlife Management from Tufts. Unfortunately, with all the funding cuts, she has not found a job in that area of work. Their wedding will be when their lives are a little less busy. I want to know who wrote the destiny part of our "Ambition and Destiny" entries in our Amicus? In case any of you have forgotten, my ambition was to be a physical therapist, which I did for 40 years! My destiny was to always need one. Well, that was truer than anyone actually knew. I am writing you the following long story so that I don't have to tell it repeatedly at the reunion. Taylor, Alyssa, Charmagne and Jeremy July 1st of 2009 I woke up early with a viscous attack of vertigo. It took me four and a half months of fighting for myself through misinformed physicians and surgeons to get an accurate  diagnosis of a Chiari Malformation of my skull. For whatever reason, when my skull was forming in utero the base of it, where it meets my neck, bent in at a ninety degree angle rather than a gentle curve. This meant that when my brain was growing, there wasn't enough room at the bottom, so there was constant pressure, which reduced the efficiency of my brain's ability to function. The base of the brain is the center for balance and co-ordination, as well as supporting vision and higher processing such as math. There is cerebrospinal fluid in the brain and spinal cord, keeping it moist and healthy. The brain is very sensitive to pressure. Each time the heart beats, increased blood goes to the brain (a good thing). Just to the sides of where the spinal cord goes from brain to neck are two channels through which the cerebrospinal fluid flows down into the spine when the blood comes up in (from the heart beat) thus maintaining equalized pressure in the brain. With a Chiari Malformation the crowded brain covers over and descends down into the channels for the cerebrospinal fluid, blocking the flow and increasing the intracranial pressure. After six more weeks of fighting for my right to have surgery, I had a sucessful decompression and removal of the the middle third of my top cervical vertebra on Decmber 24, 2009. They also scraped the scar tissue off my brain and put a patch made from pig pericardium (covering of heart) over the area for protection. I have an incision scar from the middle of the back of my head to the base of my neck.  Merry Christmas! After surgery I was left with extreme tightness, a lot of pain and difficulty moving my neck and shoulders, and marked difficulty with balance (falling sideways, pitching foreward). I was unable to swallow anything other than pudding or yogurt. Water went either down my airway or up my nose. Dry,non slippery things just didn't go down.  I took pain meds (crushed up in pudding) and tried to get better. After a few weeks at home, I realized that this was not just stiffness. It appears that during the surgery the ninety degree angle of the malformation required them to put an excessive amount of strech on my neck and in the process, the spinal accessory nerve, which innervates the back of the throat, and two of the major muscle groups which connect your neck and head, and which tell your brain where your head is was injured. This meant I went from spinning with vertigo to being a "weeble." Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down" (some of you may remember those toys with your kids) The good news is that the nerve is growing back. It is a miraculous thing that our bodies are "wired" to be able to do that.  That said, it requires great patience as the nerve grows a millimeter a day (about one inch a month) and mine has to grow up to twelve inches. I did not have disability insurance, but have ended up on Social Security Disability, as I am unable to do any kind of employable work. I believe it is for a year and then I get re-evaluated. I won't get rich, but it is a big help toward paying the bills. I am renting a "mobility scooter" to bring to Westtown. I am able to walk quite well, but tire easily. This way, I can be up and around enjoying the group and also "run" off to see various parts of campus with other people, one of my favorite things to do. Thanks for listening to my story. I am happy to answer any questions. Beth Guthrie Beth Guthrie <bethguthrgmail.com>