Brody Update

Brody out of surgery - thank you all for your prayers and support!!

We've had a lot of questions regarding what a shunt is. Brody's body doesn't drain the CSF (cerebral spinal fluid) like most people's does. His shunt drains the csf from his brain, through a small tube that empties into his stomach where it is absorbed. There are 3 main parts to the shunt and all three were checked. The valve (that is attached to the outside of his skull) and the tubing (that runs down his tummy into his abdomen) looked perfect. The catheter that goes into the ventricle of the brain (that is attached to the valve) was COMPLETELY blocked allowing no cerebral spinal fluid to be drained like it is supposed to. The build up of the fluid was the cause of the enlarged ventricles. Dr. Honeycutt removed the blocked catheter and replaced it with a new one.

Thankfully we caught the malfunction early so there was not a dangerous amount of pressure on his brain nor did we see BIG, OBVIOUS symptoms jumping out at us. Rather than being severely lethargic, excessive vomiting, loss of mobility...etc., we instead saw an "off" Brody. Friday morning he randomly threw up twice but acted totally fine. Throughout the weekend he had several small spells of wanting to sit and not join in regular activities that he normally would have. He was less talkative than normal, didn't eat as much...he was just "off". Bret and I went back and forth for several days about whether or not to take him in and i'm SO glad we ended up bringing him. The signs could have very easily been overlooked.

Brody is currently still intubated and in recovery but we should get to see him in another hour or so. Assuming all goes well today/tonight, he should be able to go home tomorrow. He will be seen again in a month for another CT scan to check the size of his ventricles. In the meantime we are to watch him and the way he acts very closely.

Again thank you all SO much for your support. Please continue to pray recovery goes well and he is back to himself soon!