Michigan father shares warning signs of debilitating brain disorder
In 2022, Mark Van Alstine was 36 years old and healthy. Then the father of two began experiencing intense migraines.
"It had gotten to a point, actually, where I started seeing red lines in my vision and getting kind of the black spots when you look at the sun or any bright light," said Van Alstine.
He said he experienced nausea and began hearing the world around him differently.
After a visit to his doctor, he was referred to a local neurologist.
"We had no idea what to expect and went into the appointment and kind of got blindsided with information about what was seen in the scans and then what the resolution was going to be," he said.
The doctor said he might have cancer and would need invasive surgery requiring two holes to be drilled into his skull.
"We left that appointment feeling very overwhelmed and emotional," he said. "It was emotional because of me potentially not being able to see my son grow up. Not being able to see my daughter graduate high school and go into college. And that's when Dr. Magill starts to come into the picture."
Stephen Magill is a neurosurgeon at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
Van Alstine's brother-in-law helped him get an appointment with Magill, who saw him right away.
"He said totally different words than what we thought was going to be the case," said Van Alstine. "He had almost no worries at all. He explained that everything we were feeling was normal."
Van Alstine was diagnosed with hydrocephalus.
The condition, which causes fluid buildup in the brain, made national headlines earlier this year when Billy Joel announced in May that he was diagnosed with it and had to cancel all of his scheduled concerts.
"In Mark's case, he had a cyst that was growing that caused compression of where the fluid flows through the brain through a small channel called the aqueduct," said Magill. "As the cyst grew over time, it slowly closed off that channel, and then the fluid started to build up, and that's when he began to have the symptoms that he was experiencing."
Magill said he was able to make a small opening and pass a flexible camera to where the cyst had grown.
He said the procedure is more commonly used in pediatric cases, and it is rare to perform it on an adult.
"We were able to turn the camera back and look back towards where the cyst is and actually open it up, biopsy it so that you know it's not a tumor, that it's just a benign cyst," said Magill. "And then once we open that, the fluid just comes flowing out of the cyst, and then you can see the normal pathway open. And by doing that, we were able to treat him."
Van Alstine's symptoms disappeared almost immediately, and he went on to make a full recovery.
He has advice for anyone experiencing similar symptoms.
"Absolutely get it checked out, number one," said Van Alstine. "And number two, when you get delivered big, impactful news, my big thing is — I tell everybody this now — get a second opinion."