Stitch This

This will be, I think, the first of may posts I write discussing and dissecting the last few weeks and days’ experiences. I feel as if I have been torn down and rebuilt again, and not necessarily in a good way. Now I am here, catching my breath, trying to make sense of it all.

For today I will just outline the facts and Then as I work through it myself I will try to write about it here. This blog has been there for me before when I needed to lean on it, I hope it will do the same for me and others again.

So, what’s the story, morning glory? You know I have dealt with chronic illness for a good few years now, divorce, bereavement etc etc etc so what else has been going on? Well, back in 2018 you may remember I was diagnosed out of the blue with nine benign meningioma. For which, read brain tumours. Not what you’d want really. In June 2020 I had one zapped using gamma knife radiotherapy. November 2021 and my eyes are telling me there’s trouble afoot with pressure on the optic nerve. If the pressure continues it can lead to blindness. Clearly something had to be done.

So a couple of weeks ago I was admitted to Hospital and underwent a procedure to allow the neurologists to monitor the pressure between my brain and skull (ICP monitoring). Basically they stick a wire in your your brain and hook you up to a monitor for 48 hours or so.

The data collected is then used to understand the pressure fluctuations and determine a treatment. This often ends in the insertion of an internal “shunt” which is essentially a valve that drains excess fluid away into the abdomen.

Based on my experience (more in later posts) This is a BIG DEAL. It’s permanent and it can save your sight. It can also give,you a hard kick of reality especially if you have a tendency towards ‘getting on with it’ when faced wit( challenge. And this is why I will write these posts really. I want to describe what happened so as to add to the info available to those who face deciding whether to go for a shunt or not.

I am writing this in bed, having been discharged yesterday afternoon. It has taken me three attempts to get this far. I’m whacked. But, it’s a start. Next time I will tell you some more and hopefully be more interesting!

P.