Gabriel's Life

Last month, the California-based Hydrocephalus Association held its 11th Annual Hydrocephalus Conference, with presentations on pregnancy and hydrocephalus, shunt problems and varieties, and more.

One exciting presentation–featured recently on the association’s website–highlighted the peculiar difficulties adolescent patients face as they make the already-awkward transition from childhood to adulthood. Given from a medical expert’s perspective, the presentation focuses on the large amount of awareness and maturity a hydrocephalitic teen must foster in order to make it through the difficult changes ahead.

“Young adults with hydrocephalus often have great opportunities to lead happy, fulfilling and mostly healthy lives,” writes the assocation’s Michelle Emick Ronholm. “But with independence comes responsibility to do everything you can with your health care team to ensure effective hydrocephalus treatment.”

The presentation (found here) offers invaluable insight into the switch a child patient makes as his or her support system switches from parents, extended relatives, school teachers and administrators, and a wide array of medical providers to possibly just him or herself and the surgeon. The presenter–Doctor Hal Rekate, pediatric neurosurgery chief at the Barrow Neurological Institute–calls on teenage patients to learn as much as they can about the particulars of their condition, shunt, and treatment in order to better articulate their situation to their trusted doctor.

Dr. Rekate doesn’t mince words and goes into the “cruel realities” of hydrocephalus, which might have been glossed over or delicately described when the patient was a small child. He states shunt infection, shunt failure, comas, and even small chances of fatality are all actual possibilities for this maturing individual.

In the end, not only is the presentation a great primer for any growing person (”Do your homework, it is a vital process in becoming an adult,” writes the doctor), the slides offer truth and advice for teenagers who already have much of the confusing world thrown at them.

If you have a adolescent relative with hydrocephalus, or are one yourself, take the time to read and forward along the presentation. In addition, other slideshows are available on the Hydrocephalus Association’s website, and Gabriel’s Life will continue profiling the wonderful information shared by that group from its most recent conference.