Surgery ends Arizona woman's month-long headache

(CNN) - An Arizona woman is recovering after a surgery she desperately needed to end a month-long headache.

Carissa Galvez, 20, had an experimental shunt implanted into her brain five years ago to drain spinal fluid from a rare disorder.

But in late September, the shunt failed resulting in a nonstop headache.

Carissa was bed-ridden for weeks, and used ice packs to dull the pain.

Her Mother, Daniella Galvez, said her original doctor retired and because of the experimental nature of the device, most doctors were afraid to operate.

Eventually, a team in Phoenix, Ariz. agreed to do the surgery.

"I am so happy I got relief from this headache, because it literally felt like no one was going to help me." Galvez said on Monday.

"She opened her eyes real wide and began to cry and said my head doesn't hurt anymore and then we all cried," her mother said.

She is now counting down the days to her release and counting down the number of tubes and monitors she has been hooked up to.

"You have no idea. Today, we got one of my things taken off my pole and I'm like ‘Yes, one less wire...Sweet,’" Galvez said.

Galvez has back pain from the surgery, but is otherwise pain-free.

She is expected to make a full recovery and return home later this week.