Nine days ago, Lucy got what we thought might be a stomach flu. It had been going around, we knew--and it didn't seem to be too bad. She was throwing up some (mostly on an empty stomach), but still had something of an appetite. She was tired, but only some of the time, and said she had a headache and other aches, but again, only some of the time. On top of this, we had just been in a week and a half before for Lucy's yearly check-up. With a new CT scan showing her ventricles to be nearly ideal, her neurosurgeon had proclaimed her brain to be "perfect."
Because she was still throwing up and complaining of pain, we took Lucy to the doctor on Thursday--were told that it was a virus, and that she would be over it soon. By Thursday (Thanksgiving) night, I called the neurosurgeon on call at Primary Children Medical center to get (his) opinion. Because Lucy still had an appetite and because her tiredness and pain wasn't constant, he told me (us) that a shunt problem was not likely.
Brian took Lucy in to see the doctor again on Friday (Gabe's birthday). Again, we were told that it wasn't a shunt problem. Lucy was still up and down. At times, she seemed to be feeling fine. Saturday, Brian brought Lucy to the hospital to meet Gabe for the first time. She was feeling pretty good to start, but wanted to lie down and sleep after a while. That night, after popsicles and a tubby, she was in dress-ups and singing for her daddy and Grandma P.
Sunday, Gabe and I came home from the hospital and Lucy had less and less interest in any drink or food. She basically just wanted to lie down and rest. Brian called the neurosurgeon on call and was encouraged to wait until the clinic opened on Monday (to avoid the long, long process of ER). Brian took Lucy for a walk in a stroller, came back and took her to the ER. It just seemed less and less likely that what Lucy had was a virus.
The doctor on call tried to pull fluid from Lucy's valve and couldn't get anything. This fact, combined with Lucy's evident pain and continued vomiting, tipped the scales to indicate a shunt failure. Lucy had her shunt revised on Monday afternoon by Dr. Brockmeyer. He found that the shunt had broken. I was with Lucy only for a few hours total of her hospital stay, as we felt it best to keep Gabe out of the hospital, and never was there for any of the consultation that Dr. Brockmeyer gave, but apparently he said that the shunt hadn't broken because of too much activity or hitting her head. Dr. Brockmeyer said "no," that we couldn't have prevented it--he also said that another shunt had broken a month before and that they had notified the company.
Lucy came home yesterday. She's wobbly on her feet, but in good spirits. When her friend, Natalie came over to give her balloons and a stuffed animal, Lucy asked her to stay and play. Thay played for over an hour, when Natalie's mom came over with dinner and to bring Natalie home. (Thanks for playing and thanks for dinner!!!)
The doctors told us that Lucy should be steady on her feet again by Friday--that it's probably caused by lying down so much. I will be happy see her steady again. It pains me to see her reluctant to walk and stagger on her feet. (HellO, motherhood and hormones!)
We are so happy that she's okay and that we have such good doctors for her. Hopefully when or if her shunt fails again (ack--perish the thought), we will recognize it sooner than we did this time. This has been a serious emotional rollercoaster. I know that shunt failure is part of the package when it comes to hydrocephalus, but I don't want to get used to going through this. I don't want it to become routine.
