Hydrocephalus…Intermittent failure?

Hydrocephalus…Intermittent failure?

Intermittent : “Occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous or steady”

Working in IT support for the last 20+ years, has definitely had its advantages.  Take for example the word “intermittent“, something used more often than not when faced with an unexplainable technical issue.  For me to understand this term in the context of my Hydrocephalus and ETV, is actually quite simple because of my work experience.

Have you ever dealt with or been the kind of computer user who experiences technical difficulties only to have the IT guy/gal respond to your call for help and your hardware simply behaves itself?  Leaving you feeling like a complete idiot, looking like you’re imagining things?

Well, this is kind of how I feel right now…and, so many other times before (when I had a shunt).

In these situations, because the computer user was a “customer“, I wasn’t allowed to simply ignore their constant plight and cry for help.  I simply had to find a solution and in most cases, catch the symptom in action.  “Call me as soon as it happens again so I can see exactly what it’s doing“.  Printers for example, not printing one minute and then the next working as intended, were especially tricky.  I would do all kinds of troubleshooting, providing solutions that ended up serving a temporary purpose but in the end, a replacement would be arranged and all would be well with the world.

As another example, a few months back, it felt like the world had come to a standstill in our household.  Our internet connection was “acting up“, intermittently.  We would have internet access but the connection would become slow, unresponsive or just not work at all.  After a few weeks of battling with a dropping WiFi connection, each member of my family came complaining, at different times, about it.  (The joys of being an IT support person – NOT.  I can’t even get a break from work at home but such is life).

Eventually, I made a few calls, done some troubleshooting with the Tech guy from our service provider and eventually established it was a hardware issue.  Our little modem couldn’t cope anymore and was eventually replaced (It’s not even a year old).  Happiness has been restored…at least until this one fails too (They’re not designed to last forever). Hmm…sounds familiar…much like a shunt or ETV don’t you think?

The lesson I’ve learnt over the years about intermittent problems:

Don’t ignore it just because you can’t see it but more importantly, just because you can’t see it, DOES NOT mean that the symptoms aren’t real.

The surgeon I initially consulted with at my last appointment kept saying things like “I have seen stranger things” when questioned about the possibility, of despite my ETV being open, that there could be a problem.

So, I’m going to accept that maybe my Hydrocephalus is “acting up” intermittently as per my last post.  Exactly what I’m going to do about it, well that remains a mystery to me.  (For the time being).

It does however, leave me wondering.  Does it mean I need to keep bugging these doctors until they give in to me and do something or do I just wait until it breaks down completely?  Sadly this part simply cannot be compared to a piece of failing IT equipment because if this fails and doesn’t get attended to when required, it could be fatal or at the very least cause irreparable brain damage.  Though, that’s just “my un(educated) opinion” on the matter, especially since the 2nd “doctor” disputed the fact that I’m in any danger of that!

But, let’s just stick our heads in the sand, manage it and hope it goes away…miraculously!

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