Last night was interesting. Shelby went to sleep at 7:30 as usual. Around 9:30, she woke up screaming, wailing, and thrashing around with this weird high-pitched cry. This continued for a couple hours. She seemed exhausted, but completely out of sorts, and we could do nothing to console her. What really had us worried though, was the odd high pitched scream in the middle of her constant crying. Dr. Grant had told us that was one sign of shunt malfunction, so I called Duke Children's and spoke to the neurosurgeon on-call. He could hear her clearly over the phone and said that we should go to the ER in case the shunt was failing. Trip and I ran around the house packing a bag for Shelby and me, and I stuck her in the car and headed to the hospital. As soon as the car started moving, Shelby quit crying and seemed to calm down...I pulled her onto my lap when we got to the hospital trying to figure out what to do. She seemed fine and was even talking and giving me kisses. After a quick phone conversation with Trip, I buckled Shelby back in her car seat and drove home, thinking I could easily head back if she freaked out again. I feel like I know Shelby pretty well and am learning to distinguish between sickness and a shunt malfunction. We don't get as nervous when she vomits or runs a fever these days, but last night's episode has us scratching our heads. I stayed home with her today, and she thankfully seems fine. We head to Duke for a check-up with Dr. Grant on June 13th, and I'll be relieved when we get the results of the CT scan we'll do that day.
Monday, May 9, 2011
shunt confusion
Last night was interesting. Shelby went to sleep at 7:30 as usual. Around 9:30, she woke up screaming, wailing, and thrashing around with this weird high-pitched cry. This continued for a couple hours. She seemed exhausted, but completely out of sorts, and we could do nothing to console her. What really had us worried though, was the odd high pitched scream in the middle of her constant crying. Dr. Grant had told us that was one sign of shunt malfunction, so I called Duke Children's and spoke to the neurosurgeon on-call. He could hear her clearly over the phone and said that we should go to the ER in case the shunt was failing. Trip and I ran around the house packing a bag for Shelby and me, and I stuck her in the car and headed to the hospital. As soon as the car started moving, Shelby quit crying and seemed to calm down...I pulled her onto my lap when we got to the hospital trying to figure out what to do. She seemed fine and was even talking and giving me kisses. After a quick phone conversation with Trip, I buckled Shelby back in her car seat and drove home, thinking I could easily head back if she freaked out again. I feel like I know Shelby pretty well and am learning to distinguish between sickness and a shunt malfunction. We don't get as nervous when she vomits or runs a fever these days, but last night's episode has us scratching our heads. I stayed home with her today, and she thankfully seems fine. We head to Duke for a check-up with Dr. Grant on June 13th, and I'll be relieved when we get the results of the CT scan we'll do that day.
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It is always inspiring to see how you guys navigate your world with Shelby. You seem to really handle it with grace and patience.
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