Sunday, August 2, 2009

Shunt concerns

Having a shunt is no big deal until you worry about it not working. I'm sure this is something I will be dealing with a lot during Autumn's life. So, not sure right now if Autumn's shunt is working or not. She's having some signs of malfunction but the signs could be of sickness also. First we always check her soft spot and it is not has sunken is as usual but then again as she is getting older I wonder if we can tell by her soft spot anymore. Yesterday morning she threw up after her morning feeding but I used a different extension to put the formula in so it went in faster could of made her vomit (vomiting is a sign of malfunction). She also was only awake for an hour before going back to sleep for 2.5 hours and did the same thing this morning (another sign of malfunction). BUT we have been having lots of rain at night the past couple of weeks and everytime it rains she gets wheezing, coughs, and little worn out from her allergies. So, I'm wondering if that is why she's tired. Then I hear one SB mom say that her daughter was coughing more when her shunt malfunctioned because of the Chiari malformation...so is that why she's been coughing? She has also needed oxygen at night for the last 3 nights and that was the only way we knew her shunt malfunctioned last time but is she just needing the oxygen because she's extra tired from her allergies. During the day she acts fine but she did in the past with a malfunction. So, the stress is not knowing. She is scheduled to have an MRI done in 2 weeks so we will just keep an eye on her until then and if she gets worse we may have to leave for Dallas sooner to get it all checked out. Please keep her in your prayers and let's pray it's just these weather changes and allergies that is causing the issues (another reason she could need oxygen).

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