Welcome to our World

A world filled with love, happiness, and God. He blesses our family every day that Alyssa's shunt continues to work. Thank you Lord.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Forever

Yes, a shunt is going to possibly be forever in my beautiful baby girl's little head. My daughter, Alyssa Josephine Bogue, born April 21st, 2010, will have to battle a condition called Hydrocephalus for the rest of her life. I mean she is only 12 months old and has already had brain surgery twice. Once when she was just a month old because our pediatrician discovered why her head was growing three times faster than her body. Then a second time on May 2nd because the shunt tube that drains the fluid from her ventricles was clogged. One thing that bothers me the most is that so many people don't even know what Hydrocephalus is. I can talk about what my daughter has and I have to explain to them that Hydrocephalus is a condition where the brain doesn't drain the spinal fluid out of the ventricles. In Alyssa's case the neurologist thinks she has aquaductal stenosis. Where the small canal from the third ventricle doesn't drain down into the fourth because it is closed and didn't for some reason or another open correctly when formed. So the shunt bypasses that canal and drains the fluid for her. If it malfunctions and isn't caught and fixed quickly further brain damage can occur. You see my daughter has cerebral palsy as a result of hydrocephalus. She still can't sit up and can barely roll from her tummy to her back. She has very low muscle tone . So we definetely don't want to cause further damage to her brain. It is a constant worry that we will miss something. I don't understand why she has to endure this for her whole life, but I lean on God for that which I do not understand and let him guide my life down the path he sees is best for me. I feel like he has a plan for my daughter. She was put here for a reason and I was chosen to be her mommy for a reason also.

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