Kathy Voldahl
Heather. My son had his shunt put in at 6 months. When he was two years old he had his first shunt revision. He is now 4 1/2 years old. He has had no problems since. He has completed his pre-school year. I'm happy that my son was able to communicate to me that his head hurt when he was two. When I had the routine ultra sound they didn't detect any problem before he was born. I would be very worried about your friend with the baby that has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus at 20 weeks. I have three children. The second had the shunt put in. Before my third was born I went to a specialist. He did a very detailed ultra sound and didn't see any problems. She is a very healthy girl. We now have two boys and one girl. My husband would like to have four. The thing that I hate about having revisions is when they have to redo it. A lot of times the valve or tubing gets clogged at first. Then they have to re do it. That means more days in the hospital. But he has only had one and that is good. He may never need one ever again. My son was able to tell me that his stomach hurt him. That is the first sign of the shunt not working correctly. Ever since he was small I have seen some shows on tv where they are putting a shunt in some one. I always have my son watch. I think he needs to know that he has had this done to him. I wouldn't want him to one day be surprised. Do you have any other questions or concerns? Kathy