The New Plan

Once Memorial Day had passed, we met with Dr. Riva-Cambrin again to discuss our options.

Following another heart echo, Nathan's cardiologist once again stressed that his little heart was just not ready to handle a VA shunt.  So that one was still out.

Dr. Riva-Cambin mentioned doing another VPL shunt, but on the right side of the chest this time.  Considering how scary and near-deadly the last VPL shunt was, we quickly shot down that idea as adamantly as we could.

I brought up my idea for the "branching shunt" and asked if anything like that had ever been attempted before.  Dr. Riva-Cambrin said that to his knowledge it hadn't, but that he would consider it and if he used it he would write it up in a medical journal and name it after us!

At the end of our meeting, he let us know that the next day in the morning he would be meeting with all of his colleagues in the neurosurgery department to discuss Nathan's situation and to see if any of them had any ideas as well.  Then he would let us know the direction he felt we should take.

So the following day, we received a message from Dr. Riva-Cambrin letting us know one of his colleagues had suggested doing a procedure called a Third Venticulostomy and that he would be in later to explain it to us.