This is my niece Brynlyn. She is almost 8 years old. She’s one of the smartest little kids I know. She’s a straight A student who loves anything Science, Math, and Harry Potter related. She plays travel softball and is a great basketball player. She also enjoys swimming and dancing to Justin Bieber.
She a big animal lover and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.
When she was 4 she was diagnosed with hydrocephalus (excess water on her brain) after it was discovered on an mri she had done while she was battling an illness. She spent a couple days at Riley hospital but the pediatric neurosurgeons told my sister it was a very mild case and they didn’t believe it would ever cause her any complications. She just had to have yearly visits with the eye doctor to have her optic nerve checked for swelling or damage.
Within the last month Brynlyn has started having headaches more frequently, between 10-15 in this past month. On Wednesday when she got home from school she was complaining of a headache so bad that she asked her mommy to take her to the hospital. (Anyone who knows my niece can attest she is terrified of hospitals, needles, and doctors). My sister felt it was serious enough to take her in, so they went to Riverview urgent care. The doctor there took one look at her eyes and told Jen & April to get her to Peyton Manning ASAP. He said there was a definite slant to one of her eyes indicating too much pressure. At Peyton Manning a CT scan was done and it confirmed the hydrocephalus was causing an issue. The Er doctor wanted them to follow up with Dr Wehby, a pediatric neurosurgeon the next morning. Dr. Wehby showed them her scans and there was a noticeable difference between the right and left sides of Bryn’s brain. She wanted to do a lumbar puncture (or spinal tap) to see where her inter cranial pressure was at. Today Brynlyn had a spinal tap done to check her icp. It should have been in the range of 10-15, but hers measured at 39. As a result Brynlyn will need to have a VP shunt placed in her brain next Thursday to help drain the excess fluid. She’s very scared and also nervous about having part of her head shaved, but she knows this is for the best.
My sister and her wife will be missing several days of work while Brynlyn has been at appointments, surgery, and is recovering. They have and will continue to have many trips to Indy ahead of them along with the mounting medical bills. I know they would so appreciate any help to take a little stress off of them so they can just focus on making sure Brynlyn gets better. This has been a ton for all of our family to process in such a short time.
Thank you all so much for your love and support!
Eric
