I should have included that we discussed folic acid and the lack of media attention given to its importance in lessening the incidents of neural tube defects, which spina bifida & congenital hydrocephalus are just two examples.  Every women, of childbearing age, should know her folic acid levels and consult her physician (GP, OB/GYN) about what level should be maintained.

One of the main reasons for 'enriched' flour being used in so many of our prepared foods and ingredients like flour, is so that ALL women get additional folic acid.  There are also a variety of whole foods that are easily accessible in the produce section that are higher in folate (folic acid) than other foods.  I'll include a list later.

JUNE 2012 MEETING

As always, it was great seeing our group again.  Time went by so fast.

Among other things, we discussed the upcoming Hydrocephalus Awareness Month in September and ways we can bring awareness to the condition & to the group.  We had a promising lead with a local radio personality who expressed support for the group & our mission.  However, that seems to have fallen through.  Hopefully things will change before Sept.  It would be great to do one or two radio interviews, talking about various aspects of hydrocephalus.

I got an email from an unknown person, who was asking about shunts.  In general, there are SO many of them and so much research going on at any given time that it is impossible to tell what type of shunt or even if it is specifically for hydro.

I'm looking forward to the next meeting, on July 21st, from 12:45 to 3:00 pm.  As always, we welcome drop ins & kids, as well as families, friends, caregivers & those of us living with the condition.  The Casey Room at Swedish Cherry Hill Campus has been a great meeting room for us.  It is located inside the dining room, just down the hall from Starbucks!

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.

May 2012 Meeting

The May meeting was very informative and we had a lot of fun--as usual.  We discussed the Charlie Rose Brain series.  I really want to buy it!

We also had a great conference call with one of our members on the east coast.  It was great talking with her.

We have also been discussing doing some additional outreach to caregivers, particularly parents--both those with lots of experience dealing with hydrocephalus, as well as other brain issues.  Recently, a young man in Puyallup, Washington received a TBI after being assaulted.  He is now in rehab, but has had life altering brain trauma.  I haven't heard if hydro is part of his TBI or not.

As always, I'm looking for more 'stuff' to include in the 2013 Brain Awareness Open House exhibit.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to meet a couple of new folks as we had hoped this month.  Maybe at the June meeting.

Can't believe that we are almost to June already!

BRAIN AWARENESS OPEN HOUSE--SUMMARY

Again, I would like to thank everyone who helped out this year at our table.  Medtronic's assistance was invalueable.  Very much appreciated.  We reached over 600 kids, parents & educators at this year's event.  The reusable bags, caps, squishy brains, etc. were all very popular, as always.

I would also like to thank Dr. Eric Chudler for his tireless efforts he puts forth every year, for the last 15 yrs, to put on an excellent event that engages the interest of kids, parents & teachers.  BAW provides groups, like ours, with a great forum to reach out to folks who may not have any experience or knowledge of hydrocephalus.  Thanks again.

I would also like to thank MOHAI for their generosity & support with providing BAW with a venue to put on such an event.

I am hoping to post some photographs from this year's event soon.

Looking forward to next year's event!!  It will be #16 for us.  Wow, it doesn't seem that long.

Brain Awareness 2012--March 8, 2012

Can't believe that we are less than 24 hours from this year's BAW event!!  Looks like we will have lots of people at our booth to speak with the estimated 600+ kids we'll be seeing.  Looking forward to this year's event.

We are going to be having at least two door prizes to give away this year.  Two books by Sherman Alexie.  A third book, a memory strengthening book of questions, is also available for a door prize, but not sure we'll include it.

As a group, we love doing the BAW event every year.  Personally, I love the whole process of coming up with ideas for our booth every year & pulling it all together, with the help of our members.  Last year we had a rep from Medtronic (the shunt manufacturer) that went over quite well with the kids, parents & teachers.  We will be having them at our booth again this year, hopefully with the same results.

This will be our second year having BAW at the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI), located in the Montlake area of Seattle.  It is a wonderful location, right next to Lake Washington.

I want to thank, in advance, our members & others who are coming to help at our booth who are coming from outside of the Seattle area.  It is always great to see you at this event & at our monthly meetings.

Hopefully, I'll be able to post some photos from the event.

February Meeting & BAW Update

February's meeting was great!  We had a couple of new people, from out of the country, visiting the Seattle area attend.  It was great seeing them.  Hope to have them visit again in the future.

Sorry about January's meeting being cancelled, but the weather was a huge problem.  Couldn't figure out how to navigate the hills with so many being impassable.  Thankfully, all traces of snow & ice are long gone!

Preparing for the Brain Awareness Open House at MOHAI (the Lake Washington facility, they haven't moved to South Lake Union, yet).  The event is open to grades 4 through 12, pre-registered.  Last notice we had from the organizers is that there will be 600 kids attending.

We will have two tables and quite a large number of participants to talk to the kids, teachers & parents about hydrocephalus & living with the condition.  We will also have shunt reps from Medtronic available to talk to them & show them about shunts and explaining how they work.

For the first time we are going to have a couple of giveaways/door prizes.  It will most likely be books by Sherman Alexie, a popular author for the middle school & high school kids, as well as adults.  Sherman has also lived with hydrocephalus throughout his life, writing about his experiences growing up on the reservation & living with hydrocephalus.  We would love to have him participate in the event, but he isn't available.

I'm still hoping to have my camera fixed by March 7th, so I can take some pictures to post here.

Really looking forward to a busy March!