Becky McNamara
Becky McNamara’s team got her back to living her best life.
Becky had dealt with migraines, motion sickness, and sinus problems since middle school. When she got long COVID in 2023, “my symptoms had become unmanageable,” Becky says. “Extreme fatigue, brain fog, worsening sinus issues and eventually vertigo made the smallest task seem overwhelming. I needed help.”
Until then, Becky had embraced a full and often challenging life. “My husband and I were approaching retirement and what we assumed would be some of our best years. We raised two children, rode our motorcycles throughout the U.S. and Canada, ran a few marathons, built a house, operated a small farm, and I spent more than 30 years working as a business consultant.
“Then everything came off the rails.”
Becky started with Dr. David McIntyre, her primary care provider. “Ever the pragmatist, he asked, ‘What are the top two things you need to address?’ That simple question helped me prioritize. A situation with too many disconnected pieces started to feel manageable. I could concentrate on what mattered most and begin to see progress.”
Then over the next year, Becky experienced episodes of vertigo with increased frequency and severity. She was back to struggling with day-to-day life. Dr. McIntyre listened, “asked tons of great questions,” and recommended Becky see Malorie VanWinkle, PA-C who specializes in balance and dizziness.
“Malorie and the ENT team at NH+C were game-changing for me,” Becky says. “I knew there was no easy test to determine the cause of vertigo or the solution, but something had to be triggering this. Malorie asked hundreds of questions and really listened to help find the threads that wove it all together.” A CT scan and hearing test helped Malorie see the big picture of Becky’s symptoms, too.
The CT scan showed a deviated septum and oversized turbinates, small structures behind the nose through which air flows. (Swollen turbinates can block air flow and cause chronic nasal congestion and even migraines.) Malorie referred Becky to ENT surgeon Dr. Gerard O’Halloran, who straightened her septum (the cartilage wall between the nostrils) and trimmed her turbinates. After surgery, “I realized that it was the first time since grade school that I didn’t experience constant sinus pressure and drainage, and was no longer plagued with a nagging cough and headache,” Becky says. “It felt like I was either ten years younger or had gotten the best night of sleep in my life.”
Malorie also suspected there could be a correlation between how Becky’s eyes were focusing and her worsening motion sickness, eye strain and vertigo. Malorie referred Becky to an ophthalmology specialist for a neuro-optometric evaluation of how the brain and eyes work together, which could be contributing to her symptoms.
Tests revealed significant binocular vision dysfunction with esophoria where the eyes tend to drift inward, straining the eye muscles as they fight to realign the eyes to focus. “It was described as eye muscles doing push-ups all day,” Becky says. “Turns out that my vision problems were contributing to my blurred vision, trouble reading computer screens, light sensitivity, headaches, motion sickness and vertigo.” Two new prescriptions for glasses – a pair for regular vision, and one for close up – and another list of symptoms melted away.
“Each provider took the time to really listen,” Becky says. “I never left a provider’s office without being asked, ‘Is there anything else you wanted to ask?’ What a gift to hear those words and feel like I had a team putting their heads together to get me back to living my best life again.”
Each provider “played to their strengths while being open to refer and collaborate when needed,” Becky says. “This is what advocating for your health should look – and feel – like.
“I couldn’t be more grateful to each provider and their teams for their dedication to great outcomes.”