1 year + 2 weeks

Good morning all. As we continue on the path chosen for us we've come to a small hurdle. The meeting with the neurosurgeon did not give us any concrete answers. When he examined the CT scan he explained to us that brain surgery is not an exact science there are still many unknowns. He could not tell from the pictures if the right ventical enlargement was a result of pressure or the natural enlargement as the water pressure tries to equalize toward the area where the damaged brain tissue has dissintigrated. For the actual shunt insertion there is a 10% risk from the operation from infection, bleeding, wrong area insertion etc. The reults are varied 30% chance of immediate results, 30% chance of limited result and the remainder no change. There also is a danger Shawna may lose more brain function from the shunt insertion as it passes through the brain into the ventrical and if there is bleeding and an infection. It is left completely up to us. Shawna is included in the term us as Dr. Wells made a point of explaining the whole operation and possible complications to her after she demonstrated to him she could respond to his commands to blink and give a thumbs up. We decided to wait as there is only a two week wait for the proceedure and we are going to be in the middle of another treatment to try to eliminate the thrush in her mouth. Shawna is going to an oral surgeon who will put her to sleep to completely examine and clean her mouth and teeth. After that she will have an additional diet of antioxidants and some special oils to internally combat this infection as well as a new toothbrush for each cleaning and everyone who contacts her must wash hands thouroughly before and after contact. Since that meeting almost two weeks ago Shawna had an increase in the tone immediately following the meeting. We could not get definite answers if she wanted the operation or if she had headaches or pressure. Thankfully that excess tone dissapeared quickly and mustve been brought on by stress. Since then there has been a large reduction in left side body tone. Shawna has been able to center her head and track her eyes to the right and move her left arm more. There has also been less side curvature as her left back and side muscles have relaxed. We've also been able to stand her again with minimal effort against the tone. We're slowly getting back to where we were a couple of months ago. The rest of her therapy continues to be successfull as Shawna is able to stay awake now for most of the day and participates in all the sessions. We have been blessed again with this progress as the shunt idea seems less of an immediate concern. This process though is an up and down thing and we may still have a large uphill battle looming against the tone issue. We are thankfull at those times that we can lay those needs before our Heavenly Father and he continues to provide what we have need of daily. Thankyou again for your continued prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna and family.