They decided not to do the op today because they couldn't be sure that she didn't have an infection in the CSF. She had a CT yesterday which showed she has very enlarged ventricles. But she is much more alert than when I saw her on Tuesday night. Not as alert as before but much better than on Tuesday.
She had to have a lumbar puncture and loads of blood taken again (she had loads taken on Tuesday when she had her breathing crisis). The medical staff at Southampton need their own bloods. She is so difficult to bleed
Anyway, the lumbar puncture came back clear of bacteria so she can have the shunt done tomorrow morning They did another lumbar puncture late this afternoon. After reviewing the scans again the neuro team decided that she needed some of the fluid removing before surgery to lessen the impact of removing a large amount of fluid. I don't know how much they took off.
The neuro consultant asked me if her head had ever been concave. Apparently within 6/8 weeks of a craniotomy the head should be concave not rounded or convex. I said that it has never been like that. He wasn't happy!! It sounds as if this might have been avoided. We have got a different shaped head to look forward to over the next couple of days.
They are trying to decide what to do about her bone flap, which is in Oxford. They could arrange for it to be transported to Southampton whilst trying to keep it sterile; they could transfer Helen back to Oxford for replacement of the flap or they could go straight for titanium plate. Again the consultant was very surprised that her flap wasn't in her stomach. I think they will see how the shunt is working and then see about the skull replacement.
I had to let the physio team know what Basingstoke physios have been doing with her. They are very impressed with her hand and leg splints. She was not transported with her neck support though. Her boyfriend had to go and collect all her belongings and the support was in the bag - I will take it with me tomorrow. I also had to tell them when her PICC was inserted because it won't documented!! Luckily I had made a note of it.
Hopefully I will have good news to report tomorrow!!