Jayne Pieper cries when she tells this story. Her tears have purpose. Jayne and her mother want everyone to know how Blessing Health board certified neurosurgeon John Olson changed their lives.

Debbie Schulte is a social, fun-loving person. She enjoys get-togethers with friends, shopping, boating, golfing and attending her grandchildren’s sporting events.


Debbie Schulte

But in what seemed like an instant, the 67-year-old’s life crashed down around her, and those who love her.

“She essentially aged 20 years overnight,” Jayne said of her mother.

It was January 31, 2022, when Debbie’s husband Francis found his wife of 49 years on the floor of their home with a broken back, the result of a fall. 

Debbie’s injury was the final straw for a family that needed answers. Her balance had been a reason for concern for nearly a year, and her short-term memory was failing.

“It was like you were talking to a stroke victim. She couldn’t put things together,” Jayne continued. “It was like having a dementia and a stroke patient together.”

With the help of Blessing Home Care - Francis, Jayne and her sister, Julie, kept Debbie safe while they tried to figure out what had robbed them of the woman they once knew.

“Dad had to learn how to pay the bills,” Jayne said. “Julie and I slept on their couch because we were scared that she would try to get out of bed and fall again.”

“They were ready to put me in a nursing home because they couldn’t take care of me,” Debbie recalled. “That’s what they told me.”

That would not be needed. A test done after Debbie broke her back held the secret to her failing health, and was revealed during a visit to Dr. Olson as a follow-up to her fall. Debbie’s body was not recycling her spinal fluid as it should, leading to intense pressure on her brain - a condition known as Hydrocephalus.

“The body makes a certain amount of spinal fluid which is reabsorbed off the surface of the brain in a continuous process,” said Dr. Olson. “It works that way for most people. For some, like Debbie, it does not.”

He treats 3-to-4 patients a year with this condition.


Dr. John Olson, Blessing Spine Center

Dr. Olson said Debbie was living with pressure on her brain that was one-and-a-half times normal. Pressure of that intensity can lead to balance difficulties, decline in memory and other thinking skills, vision problems and loss of bladder control. These complications can be attributed mistakenly to other medical conditions, sometimes delaying effective treatment for people with Hydrocephalus.

Medical science has not yet determined a cause for Hydrocephalus, but knows how to fix it fast.

Hydrocephalus can be treated with spinal taps, to relieve the body of excess spinal fluid when it builds up, or through placement of a shunt - a device put in the brain to continuously divert excess spinal fluid.

In Debbie’s case, a spinal tap did not prove to be a long-term answer. So, Dr. Olson partnered with Blessing Health surgeon, Dr. Harsha Polavarapu. Dr. Olson placed the shunt in Debbie’s brain, with Dr. Harsha placing the tubing that leads the excess spinal fluid to her abdomen where it is reabsorbed.

Dr. Olson felt Debbie was the perfect candidate to benefit from the procedure, due to the intensity of pressure on her brain and the resulting complications. He was correct. Debbie’s balance and thinking skills returned almost immediately.

“When I woke up from surgery, I knew I was better. It was a miracle,” she said. “I can’t say enough about him. Dr. Olson is fabulous.”

“Dr. Olson educated us on the condition. He gave us hope,” Jayne concluded. “And his bedside manner, it’s just awesome.”

Jayne is an employee of Blessing Health.

For more information on Dr. Olson and Blessing Health’s neurosurgical care, go to blessinghealth.org/neurosurgery.