there are people in this world you haven’t even met yet who are going to love you so much, so please just hold on because the people who are right for you will find you
Some of you may remember that, last October, I did a weekly post of spina bifida facts in honor of October being Spina Bifida Awareness month. I’m going to do the same this month for hydrocephalus. Not sure yet if it’ll be a weekly or bi-weekly thing, though. What I might do is do general facts one week and the next week do said facts as they pertain to me.
1) Hydrocephalus (which comes from the Greek words ‘hydro’ (water) and ‘kephalos’ (head)) is a chronic medical condition in which too much cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulates in the brain due to an inability of the body to reabsorb the fluid properly. The increased fluid causes the brain to swell and, if left untreated, can lead to brain hemorrhaging and herniation.
2) Hydrocephalus can be either congenital (accompanying/caused by such things as spina bifida, craniosynostosis, and Dandy-Walker syndrome) or acquired (due to things like meningitis, tumors and cysts, or severe head trauma).
3) It is particularly common in people who have the myelomeningocele form of SB
4) There are two types of hydrocephalus: Non-communicating (wherein something in the body is obstructing the natural flow of CSF) and communicating (wherein there’s no visible obstruction, but the body still cannot/will not reabsorb CSF naturally)
5) There is a type of communicating hydrocephalus called normal pressure hydrocephalus. More commonly found in elderly patients, it is the specific result of impaired CSF re-absorption in the arachnoid granulations.
6) There is no cure for hydrocephalus. The only proven-effective treatment for it is a cerebral shunt. This is basically a catheter inserted into one of the ventricles of the brain that is routed to drain into another part of the body.
7) Shunts can and occasionally do break or get infected. Symptoms of a malfunctioning shunt include headaches, nausea, vomiting, photophobia/light sensitivity, weakness in the arms and legs, extreme personality change, facial distortion due to a weakening of the muscles, and double-vision. From my own experience, the symptoms arrive in multiples and can come out of nowhere.
Just a girl from humble beginnings. To understand my present, you have to understand my past. Cost of Spinabifida Myelomeningocele repair: 154,000$. Cost of Shunt Surgery for Hydrocephalus: 159,500$….Life: Priceless.
Today we found out that our 1 year old will need brain surgery again and this time to put in a shunt due to his hydrocephalus 😭
I wasn’t expecting this news and I don’t understand why I wasn’t prepared. I let hope fill me up instead of my better judgement. I cried on my way home and I’m still crying now about it. My tiniest human whom has had open heart surgery at 4 months old and brain surgery this past October and now another one right by his 2nd birthday.
I have faith in God and I know this world is cruel, I just wish I could take his pain away and I could just take his spot.
Top 30 romantic ships (as voted by my followers) → #06 Julian and Brooke ∙ One Tree Hill ↳ “We’re us Brooke, You’re the girl I love with all my heart and I’m the boy who’s gonna be with you forever.“
