Hi, I am from Auckland , New Zealand . My name is Karl and I have  congenital hydrocephalus. My hydrocephalus was the result of aqueductal  stenosis caused by congenital toxoplasmosis. I have severe brain injury and I am blind in one eye. My hydrocephalus was treated at the age of 5 months using a V.A.Spitz-Holter shunt, which I still have. It is deemed to be still functioning.

My brain injury means I have trouble with co-ordination, concentration and short term memory. In the last 10 years I have also had on-going episodes of severe headache, mental confusion, lethargy and stabbing head pains, all attributed to the brain damage rather than possible shunt complication.

Despite a dismal prognosis at birth - I was considered uneducable - I attended kindergarten and went through mainstream schooling. In my childhood years I had frequent problems with my shunt requiring either distal catheter lengthening, or reconnection, and blockage. The most serious incident was at the age of 7 and a half, when the proximal catheter became clogged up and came adrift of the valve. My last shunt revision was at the age of 12yrs. Among the side effects of my hydrocephalus throughout childhood were precocious puberty, NVLD (non-verbal learning disorder) and short stature. I am barely just over 5ft tall.

Throughout my teenage years and into adulthood I have been very fortunate not to need any further shunt surgery, so much so that I virtually forgot it was even there. It is currently 25yrs since the last revision. It has only been the presence of those complication - like symptoms in the last 10 years, that has reawakened awareness of my shunt's presence. The possibility that it could malfunction once again is daunting.

I am virtually retired now, working only one afternoon and morning a week for a very understanding employer. In the remaining time, I draw, paint, read, and play with my cat Sophie. I do  some Photoshop work, website work, catch up with friends, visit my mother,  sister, nieces and nephew, go for walks in the local parks, see the odd  movie,  meditate, and rest. I take one thing at a time, one day at a time, and try to do only one main thing a day. If I visit someone in the morning then that's my outing for the day. In the afternoon I stay home and rest.  I cannot do everything, otherwise it's too much and I end up 'not well’.

I value and enjoy the little things of life, and there is much to be appreciated if one looks long enough.