by Allison Wallis
What do basketball legend Steve Kerr, rock star Austin Carlile, and me, a pastry chef and mom from Waialua have in common?
We all have a little known, rare condition called Cerebral Spinal Fluid Leaks. Spontaneous CSF leaks are thought to be caused by a defect in connective tissue, which can cause weakness, holes and tears in the dura, the leather-like covering that surrounds the spinal cord.
The dura serves an important purpose in the body–it holds your cerebral spinal fluid, which is the fluid that creates a buffer between your brain and spinal cord and your body. CSF fluid is clear and colorless and bathes and soothes your brain and spinal cord, transporting nutrients and eliminating waste. It also serves as a shock absorber and helps to protect the brain and spine from trauma. It flows in and out of ventricles in the brain, soothing nerves and the lining of the brain. One way to think of it is as the blood of the nervous system.