Last week, while volunteering at a local nonprofit organization….I got stabbed in the finger with a loose staple which was attached to an envelope I had opened. The staple stab didn’t hurt as much as my shunt does when the weather changes.
I mentioned the shunt weather change issues with my new neurosurgeon during my appointment earlier this month. The new ns had made three attempts to get me to return to the surgeon who did the last shunt revision I had in 2014.
I explained to him several times that I couldn’t return to the previous surgeon because I had fired him for several reasons such as not taking any of my shunt complaints seriously ( when it was falling apart inside my body in 2014) misreading of my xrays and misdiagnosis. He had said I had heartburn when I told him I could taste cerebral spinal fluid in my mouth and could feel csf leaking out of the distal catheter in my abdomen….
Now there are pieces of my old shunt are floating around my peritoneal cavity and lodged inside the right side of my neck.
Going back to him was not an option. He ended up getting animated in one of my films.
I told the new surgeon what type of shunt I had and faxed him a copy of my medical history with all of my previous neurosurgeons and copies of my operative reports from 2009 – 2014.
Fax thru email is the best thing ever….
Copies were made in the doctors office of my x rays and CT and MRI scans which I have on CDs.
Overall, the appointment went well and I felt my voice was heard.
The surgeon told me I don’t have one neurosurgeon though. When I have to have a revision, it’s usually the person who is available when you get to the hospital Emergency Room that will do the surgery.
So I made sure to emphasize what had happened in my shunt revisions in 2009 and 2014 and how it wasn’t going to be repeated. EVER.
This is the one thing I’ve become super paranoid about since my injuries in 2014.
I don’t want anyone operating on me again unless it’s absolutely necessary.
I’d rather have a cut finger wrapped in a bandaid then have to endure more brain surgery.
When I volunteer now, I’m carrying a small first aid kit in the event of more battles with office supplies….or anything else I encounter in the field.