My sister Leah.

So, Leah. Leah is 29 and is glorious. When she was born, well that in itself was a miracle because the doctors said she would never live, they said her head was so large that her brain could not possibly have survived damage, they said her body was so twisted she would never walk, or sit or do anything.
She was born, she had a teeny little head with a swollen forehead and a boy so straight and perfect it was hard to stop staring at her.
She had hydrocephalus, which 29 years ago was a bigger deal than it appears to be today and at days old she had a shunt fitted.
She was the most delicious and insane baby and toddler you can imagine, she climbed bell towers, jumped from scaffolding, ran away endlessly to have adventures......this teeny tiny little scrap of person, with the most enormous personality you ever would encounter.
So, many miracles have happened with Leah and if she had her own blog, maybe she would tell them. Last week, she had the most horrific pain in her head, she is used to headaches and she has retinitis pigmentosa, which means that she can't see well. Her balance is a bit iffy and she falls over and bangs into things a lot . She lives with mum and has always been a home body, she loves being at home, she adores mum and was dad's best friend. Mum and Leah are pretty much inseparable and it was only when we had to take her into hospital today, to stay...that it occurred to us that Leah has never spent a night away from mum. Maybe twice, when she was the littlest person.
This may sound shocking and it would be if it were because she was afraid, or because mum was controlling, what it means is that everyone is just happy that this is how it has been.
Leah has way too much fluid around her brain and so she had to go in today, in order to have a new shunt fitted. She was so afraid, so terrified, not so much about the operation but because she would have to stay away from home.
Mum and I stayed with her while a slew of tests were done and we waited for the doctor to come around and sign consent forms etc.
Now I am a bit of a down to earth gal, no nonsense, get on with it type of person.
Leah's doctor came to see her and, well..........it would appear that a 45 year old woman, mother of 6, happily married to delicious olive skinned man , who says things like " Man! I was kissin' you like were weren't married" ( he is divine and being kissed like your not married? Highly recommended, especially by the man you are married to, yehaw.) anyway it would appear that that woman can turn to a stupid heap of grinning adolescence when faced with this.......



And YES, I took a picture because the BEST thing about being 45 and married and having kids not much younger than edible young doctor people is that you can SAY " Oh my heavens, you are too beautiful and please let me take your picture and put it on the internet!" because they grin a lot and let you do pretty much anything. It is fantastic being a nearly Nana because you can just about say or do anything to whomsoever you choose, and they let you. Bloody hell.

Should I admit that when I saw this......

I was a bit sad because look at the left hand, ring finger, gold band oh darn it.
I think I wanted him to marry Sophie or Leah or just anyone that lived near me so I could look at him a lot and maybe stroke him sometimes. Not to ever kiss him as though we weren't married however because.....for heavens sake, I am OLD and H does such a good job of the whole kissing thing and I don't even get embarrassed, which is marvellous.
SO, anyway, Andy...which is the doctors name and I can use it and everything, explained that the plans have changed, what is going to happen now is that tomorrow, they will drill a hole in Leah's head ( there was mention of local anaesthetic, briefly until they saw the look on all of our faces and then they said ' or light general' which YES!! I should bloody well think so young man!) and then they are going to put in a wire and attach it to a pressure monitor, 48 hours of monitoring will tell us whether the pressure in her head is high enough that she needs the shunt, it could be that the amount of fluid in Leah's head is OK for her....she hasn't had a single procedure since she was 4, extraordinary. If they put a shunt in even if her pressure is OK then the headache won't change anyway, it will have been for nothing.
She isn't happy about a possible 2 extra nights in hospital but this is a good thing, she will know for sure what is going on in her head and that they have done the right thing.Also.....2 extra days of seeing Andy the beautiful, how can she possibly mind that???