Christopher Kirschbaum, brain surgery patient

Like any 12 year old, Christopher Kirschbaum loved 'snow days'. But without warning, Christopher's day off from school took a turn for the worse. Out of nowhere, his head started hurting severely. His mom took him to a local ER, which immediately rushed him to Maria Fareri Children's Hospital.

Christopher had an AVM, an abnormality in the blood vessels in his brain. The AVM had caused a hemorrhage. Upon arrival at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, Michael Tobias, M.D., and Avinash Mohan, M.D., Co-Chiefs of Pediatric Neurosurgery, were waiting. Their team responded immediately, devoting every means available to save Christopher's life. His condition required two surgeries. The first operation required the temporary removal of a section of Christopher’s skull so the brain could swell without causing further injury. It also allowed for the removal of the hemorrhage. Several days later, as he was waking from the initial surgery, he gestured to his mother to hand him a clipboard and pen (he was intubated at the time and could not speak). He wrote "Did I miss the (football) playoffs and your birthday?" That was all Drs. Tobias and Mohan needed to know that Christopher would be all right.

A few weeks later, Christopher returned to the hospital to have the AVM removed and to have the section of his skull put back in place. With the help of the pediatric neurosurgery team's continuum of care Christopher was able to celebrate his mother's birthday, watch the playoffs from his hospital room, and 7 months later, celebrate his own 13th birthday with a splash at home in Greenwich, Conn.

Learn more about Pediatric Neurosurgery at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital.