Help for Aric Unkel

In 2010 Aric had a VP shunt placed due to Hydrocephalus. Over the last year he was suffering from headaches daily and falling asleep at school almost every day. He went to the Mayo Clinic for evaluation and was admitted on February 26th 2014 for surgery. They placed an Intercranial Pressure monitoring (ICP) bolt and exernalized and clamped the current shunt and then monitored him for 2 days. The ICP levels were good, so they removed the shunt on February 28th. He was discharged and went home the next day. On March 8th he started to have Cerebral Spinal fluid leaking from his incision and was taken back to the ER at Mayo. They re-stitched the incision and he was sent home. The next morning the incision started to leak again and he was taken back to Mayo. They decided to attempt a third Ventriculostomy on March 12th, but were unable to complete it due to a thick bottom in his ventricle. He was very sleepy and confused after the surgery and they found that his sodium level was very high and he was urninating alot. The doctors tried to correct his sodium and keep him hydrated, which ended up getting corrected too quickly. This resulted in him having Cerebral Edema (swelling in the brain) and he also had Diabetes Insipidus, a rare condition that only affects 1 in 25,000 people. He spent a week in ICU and another on the floor, and had no short term memory during this time. There were several days that he did not recognize his mom and dad. He was going to go home once his sodium levels stabilized, but his incision began to leak again. A CT of his head showed that the ventricles in his brain were large and that he needed a new shunt placed. On March 22nd, a special order shunt was placed that would only open to release fluid when the pressure in his brain gets to a certain level. The neurosurgeon states that Aric has a very rare form of Hydrocephalus where the fluid builds up slowly rather than quickly with normal Hydrocephalus. He stayed at the Mayo for 2 weeks after the surgery and seemed to do well except for the short term memory loss. A day after coming home his pulse was very high (150) and he did not look well. His sodium level was dangerously high again and he spent another week in the hospital trying to get the right dosages of medication to give him, and how much he needed to drink to keep him hydrated and sodium at a safe level. He went home on April 1st on a regimen of taking medication 3 times a day and drinking only 1500cc per day. On Apil 4th he went back to the Mayo to have stitches removed in the OR and to also re-stitch an incision. Upon checking his sodium, it was again at a dangerously high level, and he was admitted again. He stayed until his sodium came down enough for him to be transported to the UIHC which is closer to home. He was admitted to the UIHC on April 6th and stayed until April 12th. He was admitted again on April 17th with a dangerously high sodium level and high heart rate. He was puffy all over and his belly was distended. He came home the next day and needed sodium checks daily and phone calls to the doctor to adjust his medication. He becomes dehydrated very quickly and still suffers from short term memory loss. He required daily lab draws to check sodium levels and they were trying to complete this at home so that Aric could get back to school and mom could get back to work. After further difficulties with the shunt, Aric will need to go back to the Mayo for another surgery. He will need lifelong care for the treatment of Diabetes Insipidus as well as the shunt which will result in frequent hospital stays and surgeries. This family needs your help and support for medical expenses as well as the travel expenses.