By Lisa Ansay —
Taylor and I have been in Minnesota with family the past two weeks, for the passing of our super-amazing, super-beloved Grandma Fran. It was wonderful to be surrounded by family, and exhausting as well.
Taylor was very tired, taking longer than usual naps, and spending more time in quiet way during our visit. It was impossible to know if it was the constant bustle of activity with family or lack of our exercise routine, or even simply a lack of the routine in general. He started running a bit of a fever, and was complaining of headaches.
I took him into an Urgent Care in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and they ran some blood work, all while in constant contact with his Infectious Disease doc from Phoenix. They performed the specific test she requested, and all looked okay.
We flew back to Phoenix Monday.
Yesterday, Taylor had a scheduled CT scan for use by the surgeons planning the facial reconstruction. I called Taylor’s neurosurgeon and let him know what was going on, so he had us come into his office, and reviewed the CT along with Taylor’s Infectious Disease doc.
It was decided to admit Taylor into the hospital to investigate a possible issue with his PV shunt. The shunt is a drain neurosurgeons put in place several months ago to relieve pressure on the brain as it heals. The shunt is adjustable, so they want to see if it needs adjusting, by performing a series of tests including dye studies, shunt scans, and other diagnostic tricks-of-the-trade. They will also perform a lumbar puncture and test the cerebral spinal fluid to see any signs of infection.
Thus far, there have been no labs indicating infection.
The ventricles in his brain looked a bit enlarged, which can be an indicator the shunt needs adjusting.
Taylor will be in St. Joseph’s Neuro ICU until the weekend or so, as they continue to investigate possible infection (as the fevers persist), why he is having headaches, and whether the shunt is an issue.
If the shunt is not working properly, they will replace it Friday in neuro-surgery.
Taylor’s spirits are up, and he did not seem to bothered at all to walk into ICU, exchange hellos with familiar nursing staff, and crawl into warm blankets surrounded by doting nurses. He grabbed the remote, rolled over and fell asleep, with a bit of a smile.
Neurosurgeons are confident his fatigue and headache are associated with the shunt, and none of the physicians are terribly concerned about the low-grade fevers, but will continue to run tests to be sure.
Blessings,
Lisa
