SF Martial Arts Teacher Loses 1/2 Of Skull After Sinus Infections

SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco martial arts instructor underwent emergency surgery — and had half of her skull removed — following a series of sinus infections. Now, she's sharing her story in hopes of helping others avoid her fate.

Millions of people have watched the emotional journey of 25-year-old Natasha Gunther, who shared her story on the social media platform TikTok. As Gunther tells it, it all started when she came down with six sinus infections last year.

"I had 6 sinus infections last year and always got antibiotics and never thought anything more of it," she told Patch in an Instagram message Wednesday. "I finally went to get a CT after my migraines got very intense along with nausea and vomiting."

Sinus infections happen when fluid builds up in the air-filled pockets in the face, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This can allow germs to grow. Viruses cause most sinus infections, but bacteria can cause some of them.

The CDC recommends people see a doctor if they experience severe symptoms, such as a bad headache or facial pain, or if symptoms worsen after initially improving.

That's when she got the biggest shock of her life.

That night, she underwent her first brain surgery, a craniotomy. Doctors removed bone and found massive amounts of staph and sinus infections. The mass moved her brain 9 mm to the right, she said. She also underwent surgery to remove the sinus infection.

A week later, she needed a surprise craniectomy. Doctors removed half of her skull — 12 to 14 centimeters — and placed it in a small freezer. She spent five weeks in the hospital.

"What I had was very rare, but extremely possible," she told Patch.

She has since needed another surgery recently to open her sinuses, which had closed.

Now she's urging people who see her "nightmare" of a story, as she calls it, to see an ear, nose, and throat doctor if they experience more than two sinus infections in a year.

"I would have been dead in a week if I didn't get that CT scan," she said.

Fortunately, she's now recovering and awaiting her final surgery, scheduled for April 11, where doctors will put her skull back in place.

In a video posted this month, Gunther said she goes to speech therapy twice a week. Her speech was nearly nonexistent following her first surgery.

"Now it's getting almost there," she said. "We're like so close!"

She also does physical therapy twice a week with her boyfriend's help to regain energy she lost while in the hospital, as well as to regain hand and ankle movements.

"So now I'm patiently waiting to get my skull back," Gunther said. "They're either going to use my skull, which is in a jar, or they're going to do a 3-D print."