Can you honestly say that the circumstances surrounding the death of Travis Shumate have not affected you? Or at the very least made you think..? Whether you have Hydro yourself or someone you love has it, really doesn’t matter. I’m sure many of us have hit a level of...
Articles with the Tag Brain surgery
Diagnosis with…no clear direction, guidance or full disclosure
How many of you received your or your loved one’s Hydrocephalus diagnosis ticking one, all or more than one of the boxes above? When I was diagnosed, age 29, the word Hydrocephalus was entirely new to me. To say it was foreign, would probably be an understatement. I went...
“The real core of being a survivor is continuing to survive”
Life doesn’t always afford us the choice of whether or not we’ll survive what it throws at us. Be it a challenge at work, life in general, family matters, ill health, etc. Some of us have a little more on our plates to deal with than others which is...
Hydrocephalus : What’s your 2018 going to be like?
With every new year comes a wave of resolutions. We set out goals which, we hope to achieve or attain. Some we succeed at, some fail as soon as they begin and others…well, let’s just say we manage to take detours that sometimes leave us pondering. This new year,...
Hydrocephalus : Losing your eyesight
There are so many what ifs with Hydrocephalus. What if I need further brain surgery? What if my short term memory doesn’t improve? What if I don’t recover from surgery? What if something goes wrong during surgery? What if my shunt/ETV fails? What if I don’t recognise the signs...
Hydrocephalus : What’s your medicine routine?
I hate taking medication but more importantly, I hate that I have to REMEMBER to take it. My memory is terrible, as is the case with most people who have Hydrocephalus and brain surgery. It’s not the same as “Oh, I’m getting old and can’t remember stuff anymore”. This...
Hydrocephalus : What’s your weather triggers?
“Whether the weather be hot, whether the weather be cold, whether the weather, whatever the weather, whether you like it or not…” Anonymous A few years back, my family and I visited our relatives in Brisbane, Australia. It was extremely hot and the first week I suffered to the point where...
Hydrocephalus: Another year without brain surgery…Woo Hoo!
8 years today exactly…that’s how long it’s been since my last brain surgery. 3 operations over 3 days (5 and a half months pregnant) and yet, here I am, writing this post. 8 years since I had my emergency ETV (having surpassed the 5-year mark the surgeon told me,...
What do you do when you HAVE to be the strong one despite having Hydrocephalus?
Diagnosed at age 29, in full-time employment and a mother of 2 (now 3), I had no other choice but to be strong. The thing about being diagnosed with an invisible illness and going through 4 brain surgeries is that not even your own family gets it. They look...
Hydrocephalus: “Remind me tomorrow”
3 little words that have managed to evoke some anxiety and borderline fear when uttered by someone else, to me. At the beginning of my Hydro journey and first brain operation, I wouldn’t face the fact that I have a memory issue. This was probably because I convinced myself...