Tasha had surgery today to create a shunt between the space in the brain where cerebral spinal fluid accumulates, and her abdomen.  She was not absorbing the fluid as fast as it was being made, and so there was a long-term danger that the pressure in her brain would rise.  This shunt, if it stays open and functioning, will obviate that problem.

After surgery they had some trouble getting her to breathe correctly, which probably was a result of the anesthetic not having worn off yet.  That all went away after about an hour. They have connected her to a device that blows oxygen past her trach opening, and so she is not being mechanically assisted at this moment, although she will get tired and then they’ll put her back on the ventilator.  This can sometimes be a long process, with steps forward and backward.

There is also the indication that she may have an infection brewing where her central IV line was placed over 10 days ago, so they have pulled that line and put in two small IVs.  The skill of the nurses in putting those needles in Mom’s very swollen hands was remarkable.

So, all of these events today have been relatively positive.  The problem that we have to address is that she has not really had any improvement in the level of awareness or response to the people in her surroundings.