The Spike and the Shunt

It almost sounds like the title of a fable. (Emphasis on "almost".)

First, the spike.
Well, we didn't get Keith home today, after all. He spiked a fever this morning and it's now just hanging around in the low-grade range so we'll be here until at least tomorrow. Obviously, we are bummed but we'll get him home before surgery at some point, so that will be good. He's been pretty ornery today but I think it's a good sign. At least he's feeling well enough to show annoyance at being here. The feeding tube hasn't helped his mood, either, but I think he's slowly getting used to it. We've been up reading lots of stories and doing lots of activities today. (I can't tell who's having more fun with the new toys, Keith or his dad.) Anyway, we've made the most of a bummer deal. Our hopes are high for tomorrow.



Second, the shunt.
Keith had another surgery last weekend while I was taking a hiatus from blogging. I thought I should record it before I forget. It's not likely that I would, but here goes.

Technically this was his third surgery of the week since his first was the emergency surgery on February 1 to place the EVD tube and allow the extra Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in his brain to drain outside his body. After the tumor resection surgery, the neurosurgeon determined that the CSF in Keith's brain was still not absorbing properly into his spine and therefore scheduled shunt surgery for the following Monday morning. This surgery would insert a shunt into Keith's head with an internal tube that runs down his neck and into his stomach. The excess CSF from Keith's brain would then either be absorbed or urinated out.


So, anyway, when Keith was extremely uncomfortable and very swollen late Sunday night, the ICU Pediatrician decided to call our neurosurgeon at home and get Keith into surgery right away. By this time, Brent had affectionately named him the "Lemonhead baby". While some swelling was expected post-tumor resection surgery, he was swollen enough to raise the concern that his CSF was draining into his facial tissue. After surgery, the neurosurgeon said this was not the case and Keith could have waited until his originally scheduled surgery time the next morning, but at least it helped make Keith more comfortable. There was a minor complication in surgery where Keith's bowel was "nicked" with the tube. (They make a small incision in his stomach to attach it.) They had to call in a general surgeon to patch it up with a few stitches, but it barely grazed the outside of his bowel and shouldn't cause any trouble. So, if you see a large incision on top of Keith's head, that's from the shunt in his head. Luckily he has nice hair that should cover it up once it grows in after chemo. He'll still be as handsome as ever; especially when he is out of the hospital and smiling.