As I’m sure you have heard by now, we love our new neurologist, Dr. Myers! Since she just relocated to the Charleston area and joined our practice in January we thought a Q&A was the perfect way for everyone to get to know her better.
Q: Dr. Myers, tell us a little about yourself informally.
A: Well, I am originally from Alabama but I moved to Charleston for the first time about ten years ago with my husband. We spent the last few years in Florida and missed the Charleston area so much that we had to come back, this time with a new addition to the family. My husband, son, and I love to spend time at the beach (collecting shark teeth!) and take weekend trips whenever possible. With the beach nearby and mountains not too far away in the upstate, Charleston is the perfect location for these things!
Q: What is your background in the medical field?
A: I went to medical school at The University of South Alabama in Mobile. I then attended the Medical University of South Carolina for my residencies in Internal Medicine and Neurology. During my time at MUSC, I also completed a Neurophysiology Fellowship and met Dr. Stickler who eventually led me to Neurology Specialists of Charleston!
Q: What made you want to go into Neurology specifically?
A: I initially became interested in neurology while in high school and college as I watched my grandfather suffer from dementia and Parkinson’s disease. It was really hard on my whole family (especially my mother,) and I started thinking I would like to be involved in the treatment of these different neurological conditions. A large number of neurological conditions are incurable but there is a lot that can be done to improve patient’s (and their families’) quality of life. I started to think that I wanted to be involved in that.
I remember the exact moment that I decided for sure to go into neurology. I was a 3rd year medical student doing a pediatric rotation, and was in the ICU with my attending physician. We happened to walk past the bed of a 2 year old and I noticed that the baby appeared to be convulsing. The child was having an epileptic seizure and this made such an impression on me because it was absolutely horrible to watch. The seizure only lasted 2 minutes or so but it felt like a lifetime. I decided that day to pursue the neurological field and ended up getting very involved with Epilepsy diagnosis and treatment during my fellowship.
Q: What would you say are the most common conditions you treat? What is the rarest condition you have experience with?
A: The most common conditions I treat are headache syndromes, seizure disorders, and Dementia. Some of the more rare conditions I’ve treated are Huntington’s Disease, Opsoclonus-Myoclonus Syndrome, and Transverse Myelitis.
Q: To wrap things up, what is your favorite thing about your job and your patients?
A: I love my job because I truly believe I am making a difference in people’s lives. It is the best feeling in the world to know that interventions and therapies that I have put in place for patients make a huge difference in their day to day lives.
Thank you for your time Dr. Myers, we are so happy to have you!