Chiari Malformation

A young teacher with a rare neurological disorder has been warned she could die if she laughs too hard, because it could push her brain out of her skull.

Carolyn Gibbons, 23, suffers from a condition called Chiari malformation, which means the lower part of her brain is too big. This can block the flow of fluid to her head through her spinal canal, she endures blurred vision, slurred speech and crippling migraines and any sudden movements feel like her head ‘is about to pop’, jerking movements, such as during a fit of giggles, could cause her brain to herniate into the top of the spinal column - raising the risk of sudden death