Friday, March 20, 2015

NPH On Grey's!



Yeah!!  It was great seeing Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH) in a story on Grey's Anatomy last night.  It wasn't the major storyline, but they did a good job with it.  It would have been more interesting, IMO, if they would have also shown/discussed the programmable shunt--rather than just saying 'shunt'.  But we can't have everything--in one episode.

I've been wishing that Shonda Rhimes would use the platform of the show to bring awareness to hydrocephalus, which she has.  Derek & Merideth's oldest daughter has hydrocephalus.  I love that they show her, when they do, as being a regular kid.  They don't depict her as being miserable or 'suffering'.

Looking forward to Saturday!

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

March Meeting



Just a quick reminder that this Saturday is our monthly meeting.  As usual, we will be in the Casey Conference Room at Swedish Hospital's Cherry Hill campus (17th & E. Jefferson, Seattle) from 1-3 pm.  Anyone with an interest in hydrocephalus or brain issues is welcome.  No reservations required.

We will be talking about the Brain Awareness event from earlier this month.  Otherwise the discussion will be open.  We also will be discussing the opportunities to take our presentation to classrooms in the coming months.

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

UW's Brain Awareness Open House Event: Summary



The 2015 Brain Awareness Event was great!  Every aspect was well worth the effort(s).  It was nice to see that so many of the kids and parents had some knowledge of hydrocephalus, some from personal/family experience, others had read about it.

As always, the kids were gracious and curious about the brain in general and, in most cases, about hydrocephalus specifically.

We used the hydro-doll (a gift from Medtronic) to show the shunt to the kids.  It is always a great icebreaker and conversation starter, with both kids and adults.  We've also had people think that the doll is a REAL child!  That didn't happen at the event though.  I also photo-bombed some group pics with the doll.

Can't believe that the 2016 event will mark the 20th year of the event, as well as our group's participation as an exhibitor.

I'm hoping to be able to post some photos from the event.  It was also covered by one tv station and one of the newspapers.

Monday, March 2, 2015

The Final Countdown To 2015 Brain Awareness Open House!


Can't believe that we are almost there already!  I have the Hydro Doll packed up and ready to go.  Wish I had a stroller and wardrobe for it, but it will work with the scrubs.  Wonder how many people will mistake it for a real baby.

I always want more 'stuff' for the kids to see and take with them.  I'm already planning for 2016.

I do want to thank everyone who will be helping out at the booth this year, in advance.  Your help is so very appreciated.  It will be great to see everyone again.

I just can't believe that this is our 20th year doing this.  Seems like only yesterday we were getting ready for our first one.

Hoping to get photos to post here this year.  Can't wait till I get a good camera and can take some myself to post.