When people are diagnosed with hydrocephalus, they put a tube called a shunt in to drain the extra fluid off. They can be in the brain or in the spine. Usually, it drains into the abdomen. It can also drain into the heart, lungs, ureter, or gallbladder. If they find out about it before the person's born, they put the shunt in when they're 2 days old.
A surgical cut is made behind the ear. There is another one in the abdomen. The doctor drills a small hole in the skull. There is a small tube that is put into the ventricle. The other end of the shunt tube is placed in the abdomen.
There are some different types of shunts. There is a Delta valve that helps prevent the shunt from taking too much off. There is a Medium Pressure Cylindrical valve which may lead to uneven drainage from the ventricles. They also have the Nulsen and Spitz valve. This was the first mass produced valve that they used to treat hydrocephalus. This contains two ball-valve units connected with a spring. It does not have an adjustable pressure setting. They can put an Anti-Siphon device in to help so the shunt doesn't take too much off. The Sigma valve operates on a flow-control mechanism. The other valves have a pressure-control system. This can be changed without being programmed or surgically changed.
There are some risks with having shunts placed. There can be bleeding in the brain or brain swelling. The shunt could get infected. There may be an infection in the brain or damage to the brain tissue. The person may also have seizures. The shunt can take too much off. It can also become blocked on either end.
People should not have anything to eat or drink for 6 hours before the surgery. They can have clear liquids up to 4 hours before the surgery. Babies under one year old can have formula, cereal, or baby food until 6 hours before surgery. They also can have clear liquids up to 4 hours before the surgery.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Diagnosing Problems
There are several different tests that they can do to see if somebody is having problems. CT scans show pictures of the brain so they can see if there is any change in the size of the ventricles.
MRIs use magnets to get a picture of the brain. They can see more details of what is happening in the brain. They put you in a tube that's completely closed in to take the pictures. I can't have MRIs any more. The shunts that I have are magnetic and it will change the pressure on my brain.
Sometimes they monitor the intercranial pressure. When they do it in La Crosse, they put the monitor on the outside of the body. With the shunts they put in when I went to Chicago, there's a piece on the shunt that they use to check the pressure. They have a piece that I carry with me that they can get the information downloaded onto a laptop. I also can rub it over the piece on the shunt if I'm having problems and that will show on the laptop, too.
They can do a radioactive isotope to see if the shunt is draining. They inject it into the shunt valve and watch to see if there's any movement. Sometimes it will go through right away. When I've had these done usually there will be no movement. They have me sit up and it goes down right away. If there is no movement at all they know that the shunt is plugged.
They also do x-rays to see if the shunt tube is broken. The pictures will show if there is a problem.
Sometimes physical therapists can do a different test to see how tight the muscles are. They check on the arms and legs to see how everything's working. They have a scale to rate how tight it is. If they can move it without problems it is rated at zero. It can go up to four if it is really tight.
MRIs use magnets to get a picture of the brain. They can see more details of what is happening in the brain. They put you in a tube that's completely closed in to take the pictures. I can't have MRIs any more. The shunts that I have are magnetic and it will change the pressure on my brain.
Sometimes they monitor the intercranial pressure. When they do it in La Crosse, they put the monitor on the outside of the body. With the shunts they put in when I went to Chicago, there's a piece on the shunt that they use to check the pressure. They have a piece that I carry with me that they can get the information downloaded onto a laptop. I also can rub it over the piece on the shunt if I'm having problems and that will show on the laptop, too.
They can do a radioactive isotope to see if the shunt is draining. They inject it into the shunt valve and watch to see if there's any movement. Sometimes it will go through right away. When I've had these done usually there will be no movement. They have me sit up and it goes down right away. If there is no movement at all they know that the shunt is plugged.
They also do x-rays to see if the shunt tube is broken. The pictures will show if there is a problem.
Sometimes physical therapists can do a different test to see how tight the muscles are. They check on the arms and legs to see how everything's working. They have a scale to rate how tight it is. If they can move it without problems it is rated at zero. It can go up to four if it is really tight.
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Music In My Life
I started taking piano lessons the summer before I went into fourth grade. That quickly became a very important release for me when I was having a hard time with emotions. I would sit at the piano and just play. Within a few minutes after I started playing my anger or frustrations would be almost gone.
When I went into fourth grade, I started playing viola. That turned out to be my favorite instrument of them all. I played with the 7th grade in 6th grade. I was in Philharmonic Youth Symphony in 7th grade. That would be a very big part of my life.
When I was in 6th grade, I started playing the French horn. I joined the Jazz Band in 7th grade. Playing that would be my escape for hours. I never sang.
I had a stroke during surgery in the beginning of 8th grade. I woke up with my left side completely paralyzed and I could no longer play any of my instruments. After that, I had to find a way to channel my love for music into a love for singing. The choir director’s husband at Good Shepherd sat by me one day at worship service. He told her to talk to me about joining the choir. I joined the choir the next time it started again. While I was in the hospital, the choir director of my church and her husband often came to visit me. That gave me hope and really helped in my recovery. I look to some of the people I sing with as family. Joan, for instance, has become a very close friend of mine. She has helped me when I start having problems with my shunts and has always been one that I can talk to. We look to each other as sisters. There have been times where she would call me and she'd pick me up, just the two of us, and we'd do lunch or go shopping. She's one person I'm grateful to have in my life and a friendship I truly cherish. I can't believe the support and friends I've mad through this experience.
The first choir director stopped doing that after my first year. They had some college students that did it for a while after that. Everybody liked that a lot. We were able to have a lot of fun with them. After they both graduated, one of their instructors became the choir director. We had a very hard time with the change. She would be getting on us with every little thing. She would be saying, "no, no. It has to be this way," while tapping the beat. It has gotten a lot better, but we still have times that it can get very hard.
Today, I enjoy singing solos. I get things set up for solos every few months. I picked out songs to sing for solos when my Pa Pa and Uncle John died to do in their memory. I enjoy singing and listening to more traditional kinds of music like Whitney Houston. In fact,one of her songs, "One Moment in Time", really fits what I feel.
"I broke my heart
Fought every gain
To taste the sweet
I face the pain
I rise and fall
Yet through it all
This much remains"
This verse sums up really everything for me. When I go through tough times those words just fill my heart. I also like listening to Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, and the Beatles just to name a few.
I bought a keyboard and started taking lessons on that. A friend called me and told me about these keyboards that you can do chords on with one or two fingers. Not long after I bought the keyboard, I was back to having that escape and release from all my frustrations. To this day, I still play quite a bit. I'm looking at possibly doing one of my solos with the keyboard. It just feels so good to be able to have my music back in my life again.
When I went into fourth grade, I started playing viola. That turned out to be my favorite instrument of them all. I played with the 7th grade in 6th grade. I was in Philharmonic Youth Symphony in 7th grade. That would be a very big part of my life.
When I was in 6th grade, I started playing the French horn. I joined the Jazz Band in 7th grade. Playing that would be my escape for hours. I never sang.
I had a stroke during surgery in the beginning of 8th grade. I woke up with my left side completely paralyzed and I could no longer play any of my instruments. After that, I had to find a way to channel my love for music into a love for singing. The choir director’s husband at Good Shepherd sat by me one day at worship service. He told her to talk to me about joining the choir. I joined the choir the next time it started again. While I was in the hospital, the choir director of my church and her husband often came to visit me. That gave me hope and really helped in my recovery. I look to some of the people I sing with as family. Joan, for instance, has become a very close friend of mine. She has helped me when I start having problems with my shunts and has always been one that I can talk to. We look to each other as sisters. There have been times where she would call me and she'd pick me up, just the two of us, and we'd do lunch or go shopping. She's one person I'm grateful to have in my life and a friendship I truly cherish. I can't believe the support and friends I've mad through this experience.
The first choir director stopped doing that after my first year. They had some college students that did it for a while after that. Everybody liked that a lot. We were able to have a lot of fun with them. After they both graduated, one of their instructors became the choir director. We had a very hard time with the change. She would be getting on us with every little thing. She would be saying, "no, no. It has to be this way," while tapping the beat. It has gotten a lot better, but we still have times that it can get very hard.
Today, I enjoy singing solos. I get things set up for solos every few months. I picked out songs to sing for solos when my Pa Pa and Uncle John died to do in their memory. I enjoy singing and listening to more traditional kinds of music like Whitney Houston. In fact,one of her songs, "One Moment in Time", really fits what I feel.
"I broke my heart
Fought every gain
To taste the sweet
I face the pain
I rise and fall
Yet through it all
This much remains"
This verse sums up really everything for me. When I go through tough times those words just fill my heart. I also like listening to Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, and the Beatles just to name a few.
I bought a keyboard and started taking lessons on that. A friend called me and told me about these keyboards that you can do chords on with one or two fingers. Not long after I bought the keyboard, I was back to having that escape and release from all my frustrations. To this day, I still play quite a bit. I'm looking at possibly doing one of my solos with the keyboard. It just feels so good to be able to have my music back in my life again.
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