Day 44
We've been waiting for over a week for my neurosurgeon to get back in town. Thankfully today's the day!
I'm not trying to be all "woe is me!" whiny on you guys. I just have a lot of friends who watch their babies and older children struggle with hydrocephalus and I want to give them a clear picture of what ETV failure feels like. So this is for them...
It's almost been 13 years since my last shunt failed and I received my ETV and this experience has been very similar
up to a point. It started out with the same symptoms: a headache that wouldn't go away, then dizziness and blurry vision, then nausea and vomiting. And in the past, that's when I'd go into a coma. Each time that happened, I remember throwing up from the pain and not waking up until after the surgery however many days later. But this time around, I've been coherent and very aware of what's going on. It think it's a huge tender mercy from the Lord because I really, REALLY don't want my kids to see me like that.
So now we're adding to the list of symptoms: a week ago my blurry vision turned into double vision, two days ago I started getting tingling and numbness on the left side of my body, and last night my always-there headache increased its intensity and won a place on "Kelly's 5 Worst Headaches of Her Life" list.
The waiting game is over. I'm visiting with a new neurologist this morning and then I'm pushing the issue with my neurosurgeon, but that will probably happen from the ER. This isn't the kind of headache we can ignore. It's time for surgical intervention.
God is at the helm. He knows the trials we need to face in life to help us grow into the sons and daughters He knows we can become. I'm just hoping that I can grow spiritually by getting to read about the next trial instead of living through every pain-filled moment the next time around. But if not...