Abigail
My son (now 16) had a shunt implaced via neurosurgery in march 2003 when he was 15. Although he is not quite an adult - I am interested to hear how people cope with the impact of surgery and recovery. I'm hoping my son will lead a fairly normal life because we were lucky to find this condition in the early stages of fluid retention of the brain. He vomitted violently and was agonising with pain from headaches. The shunt seems to be working sufficiently, but I can never feel to good about the precariousness of the shunt (tap)that sits at the back of his head on his right side. His behaviour can be ridiculous at times - but he is a teen so I'll give him time. Now, a male cousin of mine(aged 40)brain surgery had yesterday to remove a tumor. AAHHG!