Appointment w/ Dr. Newell

On Monday we went for another follow up appointment with Dr. Newell
(this is a copy from the family blog)

What fun having multiple appointments in one day all spread out...

Scott had a shuntogram to test how the shunt is working. He came back saying "I never want to do that again! They shaved the back of my head and stuck a 4 inch needle in it!"

They have to inject gamaradiation into the shunt and watch the flow. They were nice enough to numb the spot 1st, which felt like ice cold water being injected into his head. After that was the 4 inch needle with the gamaradiation. Followed up with the pain & heartache of laying in the fetal position. (wow it's really fun to write this together while chilling waiting for the next appointment). The only thing to the pass the time was watching a small computer screen on the other side of the room to see the super slow drain of the shunt... now is the fun of guessing what that means, will it be turned up or replaced... no bets please, you'll have the answer if you keep reading lol.

After that he was lucky enough to have his CT done early. YAY one procedure in this hospital he likes. It's fast and easy. Lay down on the board have a camera circle your head for a few minute, get up and your done. Nice and Easy! The lady was laughing when she took him back and we were joking about how much he likes to have a CT.

This appointment with Dr. Newell was a good one. They talked with us a bit, turned the shunt from a 1.5 flow to a 0.5 flow. We go back in about 6 weeks to check if the flow needs to be changed again. He does have to wear a fun athletic cap to keep pressure on the outside of his skull. It will force the fluid through the shunt and allow the skin to tighten. Mostly he needs to wear it when he's laying down.