[Magdalen] Shunt Surgery

[Scott Knitter]

Christopher, I'm praying from here as well. All blessings...Scott

On Mon, Dec 4, 2017 at 6:04 PM, Clarissa Canning <canplum at gmail.com> wrote:

> I add my prayers for all to go well
>
> On Dec 4, 2017 3:26 PM, "Judy Fleener" <fleenerj at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Prayers for both of you are being offered at our house.
> > Judy
> >
> > On Mon, Dec 4, 2017 at 4:07 PM, Marion Thompson <
> marionwhitevale at gmail.com
> > >
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Prayers and good wishes, indeed, as you both deal with the stresses and
> > > strains of this situation, and more prayers for Lisa's quick and
> complete
> > > recovery from the procedure.  And a hearty bravo to you for your
> > continuing
> > > abstinence.
> > >
> > > Marion, a pilgrim
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On 12/4/2017 9:01 AM, Christopher Hart wrote:
> > >
> > >> Dear Pub Friends,
> > >>
> > >> My wife, Lisa, was born with hydrocephalus and has had since
> childhood a
> > >> shunt to relieve the excess fluid in her brain. Like many medical
> > devices
> > >> shunts can and do wear out and time also finds the medical community
> > >> making
> > >> improvements in treatment. About three weeks ago her neurosurgeon
> > placed a
> > >> new type of programmable valve into her existing shunt to enable
> better
> > >> control of her fluid which was draining too much. This sort of valve
> did
> > >> not exist when she had her last shunt implanted. The valve was placed
> > into
> > >> her abdomen near a rib to avoid surgery at or near her head.
> > >> Unfortunately,
> > >> it became disconnected from the tubing and she was leaking
> > cerebro-spinal
> > >> fluid through the incision at an alarming rate. I took her to the
> > >> emergency
> > >> room yesterday when I suspected what was happening and the
> neurosurgeon
> > >> who
> > >> examined her (her surgeon's associate) confirmed my layman's
> suspicion.
> > >>
> > >> ​The upshot of this is that she now has her shunt connected to an
> > external
> > >> ventricular device to control and monitor the flow and will be
> ​having a
> > >> whole new shunt installed tomorrow if all goes as planned. This is
> > pretty
> > >> major surgery, but she has a very good surgeon so we have high hopes
> for
> > >> the outcome. If all is well she may come home as soon as Wednesday,
> but
> > >> will no doubt have a significant period of recovery to follow. Your
> > >> prayers
> > >> and good wishes are, of course, welcome and desired, both for her and
> > for
> > >> me as I deal with everything. After eleven hours in or around the ER
> and
> > >> then ICU (following transfer from one hospital to another) I'm happy
> to
> > >> say
> > >> that I did not reach for a drink which certainly would have been my
> > >> default
> > >> action in the past.
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Judy Fleener, ObJN,SSH
> > Western Michigan
> >
>



-- 
Scott R. Knitter
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA