CNN Sanjay Gupta MD January 18, 2014 21:40:00
A lot of problems with the right side of my body. >> reporter: for her, surgery was the only option. >> they go in and they removed a little under a centimeter of the skull bone to create access for the spinal fluid to flow freely. >> reporter: she didn't let that stop her, though. 14 months later she was back on the sled. >> i never lost sight of where i wanted to be after my surgery, and that was back competing in the sport of luge. >> reporter: while she fell short of making the olympics by a fraction of a second, she's staying sharp as the team's first alternate. >> i wake up every day kno...