What's that? You don't think that sounds like an ordinary day? Well, you're right, but don't tell Elisabeth....she doesn't know (he he he). For her this is usual and routine.
Everything came back looking marvelous. Her shunt is functioning well and her brain is growing. The following are two different views of her brain. The light gray is brain tissue and the darker gray is fluid. It looks phenomenal considering that when she was born her entire head was filled with fluid and only the smallest amount of brain tissue could be seen.
I also wanted to share these 3D reconstructive photos of Elisabeth's skull. Isn't technology amazing? This really gives you a good view of the shunt:
Interested in how a shunt works? Here is a quick overview:
A incision is made in the scalp and a small hole is drilled in the skull. A small catheter is passed into a ventricle of the brain.
A pump (valve which controls flow of fluid) is attached to the catheter to keep the fluid away from the brain. Another catheter is attached to the pump and tunneled under the skin, behind the ear, down the neck and chest and into the peritoneal cavity (abdominal cavity).
Here is an x-ray showing the tubing that is coiled in Elisabeth's abdominal cavity. There is enough length to last her several more years.
So that was our day.
Like I said, it was ordinary.....for us at least!
