One Family’s Experience: Hydrocephalus and Shunt Treatment
By Joann, Triplet Mom
Originally printed in March, 2006

I first heard the words “hydrocephalus” and “shunt” when I was 
20-weeks pregnant.  That’s when I was hit with the news that one 
of my precious little girls had hydrocephalus and would require a 
shunt.  We were told that she may have severe learning and/or physical 
disabilities.  HYDROCEPHALUS?  SHUNT?  What are these???  So, it 
was off to the internet I went, where I did not find very much information.  
Thankfully, we were referred to a wonderful neurosurgeon, Dr. John 
Duncan, who told us that while this can be serious, people can also 
live normal lives with shunts.  Of course, this was no guarantee, and 
all we could do was wait and see what the tests would show when she was 
born.  Needless to say, the next 15 weeks and two days were full of 
anxiety, fear and tons of questions and what-ifs.

On June 5, 2003, my little girls were born with Julia being the smallest 
weighing in at 3 pounds, 12 ounces.  That night, she was visited by a 
neurosurgeon who informed us that she did indeed have hydrocephalus, 
but there was no pressure inside her brain which was a good thing, so 
they were going to do further testing in the next few days.  The testing 
they did showed no abnormalities in her brain.  Her official diagnosis 
was aqueductal stenosis — Julia had a ventricle that didn’t form properly 
and wasn’t allowing the fluid to drain out.  After three weeks in the 
NICU, Julia had a shunt put in and came home.  

The next year was hard.  As if having infant triplets wasn’t enough, I 
found that every little thing Julia did that was different from her 
sisters was a cause for concern when in actuality, she was doing just 
fine.  I was also concerned with her development.  She was the last one 
to roll over, crawl, walk, climb on furniture, etc.  But, I have to 
tell myself that she DOES achieve these milestones, so what if it takes 
a little longer??

I don’t know what the future holds, but I am armed with the knowledge 
that she is at risk for learning disabilities, and now I can make sure 
that she receives appropriate attention in school.  She may never be a 
rocket scientist, but that’s okay—I‘m not one either.  She’s doing far 
better than I was led to believe back in February, 2003, and for that, 
I am immensely grateful!!!