It's been a bit since I've written anything. Life gets away from me sometimes.... well that and short term memory loss. Anyway, I told you last about my homecoming after my first brain surgery. I'll be honest with you all, I don't have many memories from my childhood. I don't know if it's because of brain damage, or if I've repressed a lot of them. I'll tell you what I do remember though.
After the first brain surgery, my parents didn't want me to be TOO active. I guess adding a head injury on top of everything else didn't sound like their idea of fun. I remember I was in fourth grade and we had a Bike-a-thon. Keep in mind that I had JUST learned how to ride a bike. My balance wasn't the best (hydrocephalus will do that to you. Go figure). I was so excited about it. I told my mom and she said no.
She was worried that I would crash. Understandably so. I was still pretty bummed though. I got to ride in the truck with my teacher, who I loved! So it turned out okay.
The surgery they performed was called a third ventriculostomy. They cut a slit in the ventricle in my brain to help drain the fluid. A great procedure, but since kids heal so quickly, mine only lasted 6 months. I started with the headaches and nausea again. I tried my best not to bother anybody with them, but in spite of all my efforts, I fell into a semi-comatose state. Went to bed in my bed, then woke up in the hospital a few days later, with no memory of getting there. That happened A LOT for me growing up.
When I would wake up, I got to hear all about what happened and how I got there. Apparently, I would sit up and cry, then vomit everywhere.
I also got to hear about all the things that happened while I was "sleeping". My siblings, not to miss any opportunity when they saw one, would order all sorts of food. I suffered from severe short term memory loss. They would say things like, "M, didn't you say you say hungry? Remember? You wanted ice cream." Then I would suddenly "remember" being hungry and order ice cream. By the time the food would come up, I would forget that I "wanted" it. So of course, my loving family would eat it for me. Their plan was flawless and worked almost every time.
Since the surgery didn't take, I was doomed to have a shunt (a tube that went from the top of my head all the way down to my abdomen. It drained the fluid). Anybody who knows about shunts, knows they are incredibly temperamental and hit and miss. So I was in and out of surgeries to fix the shunt, replace the shunt, unblock the shunt and everything else. (Now you understand why my memory is so patchy)
You guys, it is so hard for me to pull memories, and when I start, it gets alittle bit easier. Then it all comes to a screeching halt. That's where I'm at right now. I know my stories are pretty choppy and all over the place, but that's how my memory works now. So that's all for today. Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, keep them to yourself. Nobody wants to hear that. JUST KIDDING!
Ask me anything!
Talk to you later😙