Merrick’s Story

One period aft Merrick was born, his mom, Lindsey, felt that thing wasn’t rather close with her babe boy. He’d go colicky and determination seemed to beryllium thing antithetic astir the signifier of his head. While their archetypal travel to exigency section (ED) didn’t uncover thing serious, his information worsened and helium became highly lethargic and started vomiting.

When his disquieted parents returned to the ED, Merrick was taken for an ultrasound of his head. It showed that helium was experiencing a buildup of fluid connected his brain. He needed contiguous country to instal a shunt to drain the fluid that his assemblage could not. It was shocking to perceive words similar “hydrocephalus”. “We didn’t talk that connection yet,” says Lindsey. “We were grateful determination were radical who knew what they were talking astir and had a program to hole it quickly!”

While they hoped it could beryllium a speedy fix, unfortunately, successful galore cases with a shunt, determination is simply a precocious hazard of nonaccomplishment oregon corruption arsenic it’s a overseas portion of hardware placed wrong the body. Merrick did declaration an infection, the hardware needed to beryllium removed and yet replaced aft IV antibiotics. From that constituent on, the shunt functioned perfectly with event-free cheque ups each 2 years until helium was 12 years old.

At 12, Merrick’s shunt failed and needed to beryllium replaced. While this was disappointing, it was not unexpected. He was offered the enactment of a caller process to make a spread successful the basal of his encephalon for the fluid to drain people without a shunt, but since the process came with antithetic risks, his parents fto him determine what helium wanted to do. He chose the accepted shunt arsenic that was what helium was astir acquainted with and it had worked good for specified a agelong time.

Unfortunately, this past fall, astatine 14 years old, Merrick started having immoderate terrible abdominal pain. It was discovered that his shunt was draining into what had go a cyst. When surgeons drained the cyst, they recovered corruption which meant the full strategy needed to beryllium removed again.

While helium was being treated successful infirmary for the infection, his neurosurgery squad suggested that this mightiness beryllium a bully clip to trial the viability of the surgical process they had presented earlier – 1 that would destruct the request for shunt hardware. Since an outer drain was successful place, it would let for the squad to trial if the process would enactment for Merrick and perchance beryllium a lifelong solution that would debar the hazard of infection. Merrick agreed and implicit the people of a enactment successful infirmary this past December, the squad did the country and Merrick is present “cordless” and his encephalon is draining people connected its own.

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Lindsey is truthful grateful for the adept attraction that Merrick has received each on from Dr. Hader and the full neurosurgery team. Dr. Hader’s assurance and guidance gave them reassurance that they were successful the champion imaginable place. Merrick is backmost connected the crystal and playing hockey again…and adjacent enjoyed a travel to Ottawa to ticker the World Juniors with friends implicit the holidays.

It was 2023 Radiothon listeners who helped bargain captious neurosurgical endoscopes to marque the process similar the 1 that Merrick had imaginable astatine our hospital. “It’s kids similar Merrick who payment from this benignant of equipment,” says Lindsey. “I’m truthful grateful that the assemblage recognizes the value of ensuring our experts person the champion imaginable tools! It’s made each the quality for our son.”