It’s been 3 weeks since I had a VP Shunt placed. There are spots on my skull where it feels like my head has been placed in a vice grip, (stealth machine, to be exact, according to one of the nurses when I asked why I have a covering...
Hydrocephalus
Shunts are not for everyone but neither is brain surgery..!
Shunts save lives; they also cause more problems for those who need them, when they fail to work as intended. I believe each person with hydrocephalus is entitled to feel the way they do about their treatment option, regardless of what that may be. Our experiences differ and, depending...
Lifetime warranty. Lifetime guarantee…
What is it about the fact that Hydrocephalus is incurable that people don’t understand? More specifically, that treatment options i.e., brain surgery is NOT a cure. It’s as tiring for me to continuously say, as it is to hear or follow someone else’s train of thought, on the matter....
You can get angry, you can get sad but, no matter the emotion; You HAVE to keep going.
I wrote this a few weeks ago, it was meant to be my way of motivating anyone who needed it. But, I never actually got around to finishing it. Now, lying in a hospital bed (yet again), I find it more suited to my own situation. Current state: I...
Feels like I’m fading away…
How do you come back from brain surgery that leaves you feeling like you’re slipping away? Like you’re stuck in a body that simply won’t physically move, yet somehow, deep inside of you, there’s a part dying to escape the torture chamber! It’s not the life I’m used to....
Brain damage is not easily undone, after the fact! What you need to know…
When glass is shattered, you can try to piece it all back together, however, the cracks will show, altering the appearance. And, any tiny shards you may have missed, will undoubtedly leave some holes and weak spots. C. A. Marriday The risk of inaction As someone diagnosed with Hydrocephalus,...
Do you ever just feel like a waste of space?
In one of my previous posts: “How I cope is much the same as being like a duck”, I talk about the best advice I was given by my ex-manager Ian, after my diagnosis and first brain surgery. I struggled at work, to get back to a version of...
Hydrocephalus and the art of war…
She stood her ground and so did he. They are warriors of a different kind. In the days of war (I can only imagine), facing an unknown opponent, you have no idea what their strengths or weaknesses are. Nor, do you know, what tactical moves they will use to...
Let your body be your guide!
This condition has taught me to be, not only resilient, but also resourceful. The things I’ve had to do and endure, over these last few years, cause me to feel both anger and admiration (amongst other things). As a result, it forces you to figure things out for yourself!...
The change within…
Hydrocephalus is by no means easy to live with The constant brain surgeries, doctors second guessing what you’re saying, refusing to help you, uncertainty and endless worrying. The list goes on… The biggest one, overall, was losing my vision intermittently. It scared me…Brain surgery #6 resolved all of that....