VP Shunt Malfunction #3: Day 17–19
Once we got home from the hospital, the last thing on my mind was sitting down and writing about the last three days in the hospital. However, I still want to document it regardless of how late I’m reporting the story. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve referred to this blog to remember [...]
VP Shunt Malfunction #3: Day 6 & 7
Day 6: We’ve had a pretty good day today. Ellisa slept until 9:30, so she got 11.5 hours over the night with only a few interruptions. Once awake, she ate a decent breakfast that consisted almost entirely of cheese Doritos (see photos below). We played and walked around the hospital when I noticed she was [...]
Waiting, Waiting, and More Waiting
I’m sitting in the waiting room with my mom, doing my best not to think about all the rare risks that come with brain surgery as Ellisa endures her second shunt malfunction. So, to keep everyone up to date with what is going on, the team of doctors decided yesterday that since Ellisa wasn’t getting [...]
Shunt Not Down: VP Shunt Malfunction Scare Again!
September 28th was the first scare. We had another on October 22nd (we avoided ER), and another Monday night with Ellisa’s 4th visit to ER this year. I swear this little girl will never get over her fear of doctors and nurses. She gets worse with every trip. Watching them unnecessarily poke and prod her [...]
Shunt Down: VP Shunt Malfunction Scare
Well, I’m writing to say that I believe we had our first shunt malfunction scare. Fingers-crossed. Because Ellisa has hydrocephalus, we have to be very watchful of any abnormal behavior. And watchful we are. Sunday Ellisa didn’t eat much. Then during dinner she burped and got sick (kind of like a baby when they burp [...]
The Wonderful World of Hydrocephalus: Part 5, Shunt Malfunctions
Shall we start with a wee-bit of history. It’s just so interesting. To be brief, a guy had a son. The son was born with hydrocephalus. The father was an engineer and invented the shunt in order to save his son’s life. Unfortunately, his son passed away before they “perfected” the shunt. But his passion to [...]