Early Summer Sunset

Itty Bitty Baby Kitty

Pickles

...or at least he thinks he is.

Faerie Home in the Clover

Aladdin Sane and a Train

Pixie Princess

Wood Sprite

The Throne of Swords

Hydrocephalus Awareness

My Hydro Warrior, Jonathan

Jonathan's Hydrocephalus Story

Jonathan was born with Aqueductal Stenosis and Chiari Malformation Type 1. Both conditions are brain abnormalities that happen during development in the womb before birth that cause congenital hydrocephalus, commonly known as "water on the brain". The only treatment for this condition is the insertion of a shunt into the brain. A shunt consists of some kind of regulating hardware, like a valve, either a programmable or fixed pressure, with 2 catheters, the proximal that goes into the ventricles of the brain, and the distal, that ends in the peritoneal cavity in the abdomen (VP shunt) or into the aorta of the heart (VA shunt), both connects to the shunt valve. Jonathan has a VP shunt with a programmable valve. Sometimes there is another piece of hardware needed to help the valve control the flow of the CSF (cerebral-spinal fluid). For Jonathan, that is a gravity compensator that "closes" when he is upright to slow down the flow of fluid through the shunt, and "opens" when he is laying down to help it drain a little more. Since Jonathan was about a year and a half old, up until today, he has had 74 surgeries for his shunt, including the first placement of it at 17mos old. He is now 23yrs old. He has also had 2 surgeries, called Decompressions, to correct the Chiari Malformation, which is a condition where the cerebellum of the brain is herniated down into the spinal cord through the small opening at the back base of the skull. His first decompression was in June of 1994, when he was 23mos old, and the 2nd was just in May of 2014, when he was 21yrs old, almost 22. The Aqueductal Stenosis is a narrowing of a "tube" in the brain call the Aqueduct of Sylvus that is between the 3rd and 4th ventricles causing it almost impossible for the CSF to flow through causing a build up of fluid in the brain.

All of these surgeries are considered to be brain surgery and as of 11-05-15, at the age of 23 years old, between the shunt and the Chiari, he has had a total of 76 brain surgeries. This is why we need Hydrocephalus awareness and research for better treatment for this condition.

(On top of all of that, he also has Asperger's Syndrome.)

Happy Halloween!

Daughter of Dragons

 

You can find the Shrug 

and 

the Head Kerchief 

Patterns 

at 

by Midknight Designs

Hooded Dragon Armor Shrug

A Little Self Promotion

I recently opened up a little online shop selling my crocheted jewelry called Shop by Midknight.

You can find the link in my tabs bar at the top of my blog, or just click HERE :)

Here is a sneak peek:

This is just one of the items that I am selling. At the moment everything is custom made to order and I will eventually have "ready to ship" items also. I have 3 different styles of necklaces and a bracelet, I will eventually have earrings too once I have earwires on hand to make them.

Cuddles & Crochet

Ready for Spring to Arrive

On the Shores of Hilton Head

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Oh My! A Text Post!

Yeah, I occasionally do that sort of thing.

Well, first off, I changed my blog background image more for the holiday season. I think it's pretty :)

Second, I might be posting a photo every so often from my recent vacation over the Thanksgiving week. We spent time on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina from 11/25-11/29 2013, then a few hours in Savannah, Georgia on 11/30 before having to be at the airport to fly back home. I plan of posting only my favourite photos from that time. The 2 previous posts, Sunrise from Above and City Lights, were from my flight back home.

City Lights

Sunset from Above

Nap Tiems

Just Me