DAVID47

My shunt has blocked twice over the years. Last time it blocked I was in Manchester and the surgeon was unable to remove the old one so he "piggybacked" it.

When I had the stereotactic therapy a few years later in Sheffield (its not available now and you have to travel to Switzerland) it was thought it might clear a pathway for ventricle fluid to drain out. Surgeons wont remove the old shunt(s) so best to let sleeping dogs lie.

The trekking the Great Wall Of China was to raise money and awareness for Headway

Thanks Daffodil.

Sometimes I don't realise how much ive been through.

Why is it amazing that I have a shunt? What are you saying?

When I was 18 I suffered a brain stem haemorrhage on Christmas Eve 1987.

In Hull Royal Infirmary nearly 7 weeks. 1 of which I was in a coma.

Had a shunt fitted to reduce pressure in the head. During the laser surgery I had another bleed which caused a clot and covered anymore aneurysms. The surgeon thought he got them all.

6 months later I had another haemorrhage. Investigations found I had a cluster of aneuryms still ready to burst.

Stereotactic surgery at Sheffields Royal Hallamshire rid me of them. My Mum became a staff nurse on the neuro ward at Hull Royal Infirmary. I went on to become a chef teaching adults with learning difficulties. Various things happened that were out of my hands so I don't do that.

I volunteered to be a postman for 6 weeks just to get my name on the books. At the end of this there surprisingly werent any jobs. I trekked 55 miles on the Great Wall of China for Headway.

Went back to college and trained to be an actor. This proved to be a bad idea as I was working with school leavers and unable to work with them as they think differently. Took part in a World record abseil and I was 7th to abseil from the very top of the Humber Bridge towers. In Oct 2013 my legs suddenly didn't work.

I live alone and crawled to the phone to ring my Mum who was now a retired neuro nurse. She rushed me to Hull Royal infirmary and after various tests (I had a metal clip inserted in the brain back in 1987 so I wasn't able to have an MIR scan)  it was revealed high blood pressure had caused an aneurysm on the cerebellum.

If it burst it'd kill me. I had it injected with glue to block it and give me the effects of a stroke.

I was in Hull hospital for 3 weeks and had to learn to balance again. Just taken part in The Sea Of Hull. Totally naked and painted blue with 4,000 others. I live alone. People don't really bother with me. I volunteer in a local food bank and until recently I was volunteering in a snack bar of a medical centre.

The moral to the story is keep going and hopefully you'll get there.