FEBRUARY MEETING

 This month's meeting was our last before March 5th's Brain Awareness Open House Event.  We are still getting 'stuff' together for the exhibit, including searching for a tv/dvd combo unit (small) so we can show a couple of dvds.

I'm still hoping to get some donated items from KING5, our local NBC affiliate.  They have donated things, like reusable bags, in the past.  The reusable bags were a big hit with the kids at the event.

We are looking forward to having Medtronic being a part of the exhibit again this year too.  Another aspect of our exhibit that has gone over well with the kids, as well as parents and teachers.

As always, I'm hoping for more than we get for each year's exhibit.  Some day I would love to have some neuro researchers with a focus on hydrocephalus at our booth.  I'd also like to have a 'wall' of brain scans to show kids how every one is unique.  While I found some online, I'm not sure how good the quality of them would be after being reproduced.

I'm also hoping to get a new charger for my camera and be able to post pictures from BAW.

At the February meeting we had a new person join us, which was great.  We got to hear his story and he got to hear our's.  Hope to see him at future meetings!

I was sorry to hear that Dr. Ben Carson, neurosurgeon, will be retiring later this year.  He is one of the country's premiere pediatric neurosurgeons.  He spoke at last week's Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC.  He was also on ABC's This Week.

Looking forward to the March meeting where we will be discussing BAW.

August Meeting Coming 8/18/12

There is going to be a lot to talk about this month.  The subject of the passing of Kathi Goertzen, a beloved Seattle icon, this week, will definitely be a topic of conversation.  Kathi lost her fourteen year battle with a benign brain tumor this week.  Brain tumors, benign or not, can be a cause of hydrocephalus.

The group's thoughts are with Kathi's family, both her professional and personal.

Personally, I first met Kathi in 1981 when she was a reporter, at the closing of Queen Anne High School, a school we both attended at different times.  Over the years I watched her go from reporter to news anchor, being a community fixture.  Over the years, we met in passing a few times.  It was always a pleasure.  The last time was a few years ago when I participated in a program at KOMO TV, with a panel of viewers & the news team.  Again, it was a pleasure.

We are also going to be talking, again, about brain injury being a cause of the onset of hydrocephalus with another incident of a suspect being hit about the head.  The message needs to be getting to those who set the tone for the SPD.  But they don't seem interested in this area of discussion, unfortunately.

Last month, we discussed the use of brain scans on children, after an ER doctor, allegedly, refused to prescribe a scan to a young boy who had fallen from a second or third story window.  The doctor, allegedly, said that they didn't do scans because of the radiation exposure to a child.  Unfortunately, in this case, the child (who presented with classic head injury symptoms) was sent home & died.  There are scans that don't expose the patient to large doses, or any radiation!  I find it difficult to believe that the doctor in question didn't know that or that he was unaware of the classic symptoms of head injury.  The autopsy results were that the child DID have a brain bleed.

Looking forward to this month's meeting!

Brain Injury--Adults

We've been seeing and hearing quite a bit in the local Seattle press lately about adults with head injuries.  Specifically, James Foster, a young man from Puyallup who was beaten after complimenting a man on his car.  The brain damage is apparently permanent, although no reports specifically say anything one way or the other about hydrocephalus.  We would like to extend our moral support to the Foster family and let them know that if they would like to come to our meeting (June 16th is our next meeting, from 12:45 pm to 3:00 pm at Swedish Hospital's Cherry Hill Campus, 17th & Jefferson, in the Casey Room), they are more than welcome.

We've also been hearing the latest in the story of Christopher Harris, who was slammed against a wall a couple of years ago, by a Sheriff's deputy.  Like Mr. Foster, Mr. Harris' life was forever changed because of his head injury.  Not only were these men's lives changed, so were those of their families and friends.  These were preventable injuries, recieved through no fault of their own, except being someone else's victim.

These are just two cases getting attention right now.  Again, families, friends & caregivers are welcome to attend our meetings, although we do specifically talk about living with hydrocephalus.