10/20/2025
A little more about what has happened to Sammi
*Super long post*
I know a lot of you have been wondering what’s been happening since my first post about the tumors and surgery — and I just want to start by saying how much I appreciate everyone who’s checked in, prayed for me, and sent love my way.
Unfortunately, things took a turn, and I’ve ended up back in the hospital due to an infection.
About a week after I got home, I passed out twice in my bathroom, called a friend and didnt even relize i called her to come help me because I couldn’t get up. I reached out to my primary doctor and neurologist, and they both advised me to go to the ER. Branden took me to St. E, where I had bloodwork and a CT scan done — but, everything came back normal.
Fast forward a few days to that weekend — Friday and Saturday I actually felt amazing, probably the best I’d felt since before surgery. But late Saturday night, I was hit with severe pain that no medication could relieve. Sunday morning, I woke up still hurting, drenched in sweat (what i thought), and ended up sleeping most of the day.
By Monday, the pain had worsened, and my neck was swollen again. My hair was soaked, and I knew something wasn’t right. I sent a photo to both of my doctors, and they told me to head back to the ER. After spending 14 long hours between St. E and UC ER with the worst headache of my life and pain radiating through my face and neck, more tests and another CT scan were done. They found fluid around my incision. After talking with Dr. Liu and the other doctors, I was discharged with medication and told to follow up closely with him.
When I spoke with Dr. Liu, he told me it looked like I had a CSF (spinal fluid) leak and wanted me to come up right away. I asked if I could wait until the weekend, but he said it needed to be sooner.
That Wednesday, while I was getting ready, I ended up passing out twice — thankfully, Branden was home. He said I was shaking, stiff, and my eyes had rolled back. When I came to, I was confused and didn’t even realize I was on the floor or in the shower. That’s when we decided to go straight up to New Jersey. I was admitted through the ER, and after several tests, it was confirmed that I had a large amount of fluid in my incision.
The next day, Thursday, I noticed a white spot on my neck — and, being me, I touched it 🤦🏻♀️. It burst open, and infection drained for about 2 minutes. I geeked out and Branden did not so much (i kept asking him to take pics or video) Dr. Liu immediately moved my surgery up to the following day.
During surgery, they drained about 40cc of spinal fluid to relieve the pressure from the headaches and thoroughly cleaned the incision to clear out the infection. I’ve been on four different IV antibiotics since last Wednesday due to a bacterial infection in my neck.
I’m once again incredibly thankful for Dr. Liu and his amazing team for taking such good care of me and acting so quickly. I’m grateful to be with a doctor who knows my case so well and truly understands what needs to be done.
I ended up getting staples in my head and a drain tube for a day and half! Multiple blown veins, and blood work every day. Ended up takin out the drain tube today and put a stitch in (not numb and almost passed out)! Thinking about starting recovery over has been mentally and emotionally hard for me!
Sammi has been the backbone of this office for 9+years. She has currently been through 2 major brain and neck surgeries with one more still needed. Sammi needs our love and support more than ever now.
We are raffling an office gift set which includes an Oral B Toothbrush, Go Whitening, Opalescence Whitening Toothpaste, Smile Koozies and Starbucks gift cards (this gift set is worth $350.) All proceeds will go to Sammi and her family to help offset the cost of traveling out of state, time off work and caring for her family. The raffle will last for 30 days and there is no donation to big or too small. Any dollar amount will get you entered into the drawling!!
Venmo- TheSmileIndependence
Cash or Checks will also be accepted at the office, during normal office hours.
Sammi, The Smile Independence team is cheering for you. We LOVE you and miss you SO much!! 🩷
