So the time has come! On this day the day of my 1^st Brainiversary I would be very grateful if you would throw some coppers my way in aid of the Headway charity. I will be having my beard shaved off! To reveal the pin head that is me underneath. This epic event will take place on December 7^th at 3pm and will be recorded maybe even live. Would love to raise £500.00 for this fantastic charity.

Here is my back story (que slow mo video in black and white and sad music).

On November the 16^th last year I called my local GP surgery regards an ongoing headache following a migraine 2 weeks before. The amazing nurse and doctor recognised that this was more than just a simple headache and advised me to get to A&E immediately and request a CT scan. As they were concerned I may have had a bleed on the brain. After my CT scan at Stafford hospital, they found what they thought could be a cyst in my brain. I was then driven over to Stoke on Trent for an MRI scan. 

I was diagnosed with an 8mm 3^rd ventricular colloid cyst with hydrocephalus which was then removed via an endoscopic third ventriculostomy with pellucidotomy. (I swear they make these words up). Basically I had an 8mm cyst in a 10mm drainage pipe, causing fluid to build up compressing my brain against my skull. They drilled a hole with a 14mm bit and used a clever camera with a little Swiss army knife or something on the end to get it out (granted it’s probably more complicated than that).

All of this within 12 hours!

To say it was a scary 12 hours would be an understatement. Nothing quite like being told that you are at risk of sudden death and without
the surgery you would have had less than 6 months to live. With Covid
restrictions, I could not have my family with me prior to surgery; I suppose some part of me is thankful for that in a weird kind of way, as I had them worried enough at the time without the stress of them having to see my concern.

Prior to the surgery, I was made aware of the possible outcomes
of the surgery which including dying on the operating table (standard), brain damage (varying degrees off), epilepsy, seizures, black outs, complete memory loss to memory issues.

Prior to the surgery after speaking with wife and family, I messaged my close friends to let them know what was happening. I honestly
didn’t know if I would wake up from the surgery and wondered if I did, who would I be?

However, I am the eternal optimist and thought in a
situation like this, all you can do is put yourself in the hands of the people who are trained for this sort of thing and trust in science.

The surgery went well and four days later I was discharged
from hospital to recover at home.

The first month and a half at home, I had continued headaches and neuro fatigue (to be fair they had been rummaging around in my brain). Miraculously by New year’s day I was feeling pretty good. The fatigue and headaches had stopped. Following the surgery I have met again with my consultant and discussed some of the damage caused in the removal of the cyst. 

Since having the surgery, I do have memory and communication
issues. I had another MRI scan last month and spoke with my consultant yesterday (15^th Nov). The cyst is no more but there is a small possibility it could return within 8 years. So I will be having yearly MRI’s from now on. The area where the fluid had built up has reduced, which is great news! My consultant thinks the swelling has stretched the “fornix” within the brain. Which is the reason for my memory and cognitive issues. “The fornix acts as the primary outgoing pathway from the hippocampus, and thus its most
recognized function is its involvement in memory. The hippocampal projections that travel in the fornix are thought to be important for memory consolidation, and damage to the fornix has been associated with anterograde amnesia (decreased ability to retain new information), which involves the inability to create new
memories. Fornix damage is primarily linked to deficits in declarative
memories, or memories for factual information---and especially episodic memories (Episodic memory involves a person’s recollection of temporally dated information that permits the agent to mentally travel back in time and associate emotions with experiences), which are a type of declarative memory that deals with autobiographical information.”

In the grand scheme of things I have got off lightly and I can happily laugh of my symptoms and get on with my life, plus I can also balance a whole egg in the hole in my skull so that’s a bonus! 

Many people in my situation are not so lucky. So, I would be very grateful if you could donate what you can to Headway so they continue to offer vital support to people less fortunate than myself.