Update to the 27th Surgery

I had emergency surgery on 8/27/2015 because I was losing my vision due to the increased pressure in my brain.  Although I knew we had no other choice but to turn the shunt back on, I was still devastated.  Since I had been over-draining on and off for twelve years, I truly thought that I wasn't going to be shunt dependent anymore.  I couldn't help but dream about a life with no more brain surgeries.

During this procedure my neurosurgeon added a second high pressure valve in my abdomen.  Now I have two high pressure valves on this shunt.  The goal was to drain enough CSF out of the brain to reduce the swelling on the optic nerves while leaving enough pressure in the brain to avoid over-drainage.

It's been almost a month since surgery and I am happy to say I am feeling very good.  I rarely have headaches anymore.  I am just exhausted physically from having so many surgeries in a row.  The swelling on my optic nerves are gone.  I still see flashes of light every day but my ophthalmologist assured me that I don't need to worry about it.  He said it takes awhile for neurological changes to go away or it could be a result of needing to have higher pressure in my brain.  As long as the swelling is gone we don't need to worry about it.  I did lose some vision permanently in my right eye but that is my weaker eye so I am not concerned about it.

Now that I am feeling so much better physically, I can enjoy life again.  My son and I have been getting out of the house and spending time with friends whenever we can.  I must say that it has felt amazing to do that. I was in so much  pain and home bound for so long!  My friends are telling me that they see life in my eyes again and they see a huge change in me.  It just melts my heart to hear them say that.

I don't want to take on too much on too quickly but I am searching for a job.  I have also been rearranging my home and getting rid of clutter.  Dealing with a broken heart and brain, I've had no desire to write lately.  But now that I am in less pain physically, I am getting that desire back.  My new office is almost finished and I think it will be a very comfortable place for me focus on writing.

My goals for this next year are to find a job, keep up on the blog, take and sell more pictures, visit with family and friends more, and just genuinely enjoy life with my son.  I see many adventures in our future just like we used to have.  I also see a big hug coming to my neurosurgeon next week.  I can't thank him enough for giving me my life back and for NEVER giving up on me.  I am truly grateful for everything he has done for me.  I know this won't be my last surgery, but I hope it's the last for awhile and I will enjoy every minute of having good health.