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At 10 years old, Halle Shelton didn’t have the words to explain what was happening inside her head.

She just knew it hurt.

It started in 2014 with double vision and small symptoms that didn’t seem connected. Then came the migraine pain. Her eye doctor noticed dangerous pressure and sent her to a specialist, who immediately directed her another healthcare provider. Some more tests and procedures followed. The migraine that came after was unbearable.

That’s when Halle arrived at Norton Children’s Hospital.

After a week of testing, Halle and her family finally had an answer from Thomas M. Moriarty, M.D., chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Norton Children’s Neuroscience Institute, and his team. The diagnosis was Chiari malformation — a structural condition affecting the brain and spinal cord.

“It explained a lot,” Halle said. “I was so young. I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t understand what it was. It was really scary.”

According to Halle, her migraine headaches were like “having a heartbeat in my head.” Construction noise could trigger them. Lights became unbearable. Ringing filled her ears. Nausea followed.

“I had them every single day,” she said. “The only course of action is to just sit in your room, away from everything, as quiet as you can be, and dark.”

Following the diagnosis, her mother nearly stopped working to stay by her side. In January 2015, less than a year after that first emergency department visit, Halle underwent Chiari malformation decompression surgery. Typically, that involves a suboccipital craniectomy with C1 laminectomy (procedures to remove small pieces of bone from the skull and upper spine) to relieve pressure at the base of the skull and restore normal cerebrospinal fluid flow.

Halle missed nearly a full year of school. When she returned, recovery was gradual. Six months later, she slowly resumed sports and extracurricular activities.

But the migraine symptoms didn’t disappear.

“They just weren’t nearly as severe,” Halle said.

In 2022, her neurologist recommended a monthly injection, a treatment not available earlier because of her age.

“It completely changed my life,” she said.

Today, she experiences migraine episodes two or three times a month instead of daily.

She still has limitations. Roller coasters and carnival rides are off the table. Heat and barometric pressure changes can trigger migraine flare-ups. If one hits unexpectedly, she can’t drive or leave wherever she is. But the condition no longer defines her daily life.

Halle’s healthcare story would be remarkable if it ended just there. But for her, her story merely got its start by her spending so much time in the care of pediatric healthcare workers.

The staff who cared for Halle during her scariest moments left a lasting impression — and inspired a career.

A healthcare worker with a patient’s perspective
Now set to graduate with her respiratory therapy degree in December 2026, Halle works at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital as a student respiratory care practitioner. The student practitioner role is the third tier of Norton Healthcare’s Respiratory Therapy Apprentice Program. Tier 3 participants in the program gain critical hands-on experience at various Norton Healthcare and Norton Children’s hospitals, where they participate in real patient care scenarios, including code responses, trauma alerts and emergency procedures.

Halle discovered respiratory therapy while exploring undergraduate programs and felt drawn to the profession.

“Going through what I did makes me want to give that same care back that I got, that made me feel better,” Halle said. “I know what it’s like to be a scared child, and as a healthcare worker I could definitely make a child’s experience better.”