Because my last post has
gotten more views than any of my other posts than I've gotten since I started
writing this blog 14 months ago, I’ve decided to continue writing about the
same subject this week. If this is your first time reading I post on
"Media views on Hydrocephalus" once in a while where I pick a
celebrity or character that either has Hydrocephalus themselves, or they
somehow were/are affected by it. It fits into the subject I picked out in the
first place, because it's something that's usually not written about or at
least not in detail.
Like last week's post
(Roald Dahl) this post means something personally to me, other than the
Hydrocephalus part. Gabrielle was the State rep in one of the three districts
where I live. On the morning of January 8th, 2011 she was shot in the head by a
gunman outside of a Safeway north of Tucson, during her first "Congress on
Your Corner" gathering.19 others were shot, including 6 who died.
The results of her
injury were a shattered skull and swelling of the brain. They left a hole in
her skull for a few months after to allow the swelling to go down. At some
point during those first few months, she developed Hydrocephalus. It's common
for this to happen after any kind of brain injury that involves swelling of the
brain, or a brain bleed. When they replaced the part of her missing skull, they
placed a VP shunt for her Hydrocephalus.
Unfortunately the for
the most part Hydrocephalus and her shunt is left out when the media talks
about her health problems. But it's been done many times before with other celebrities,
and it won't be the last. But that's one of the reasons I've picked this topic
in the first place. I hope that by posting about it, people will be able to
find my blog when searching for public figures and that it will make people
more aware of the condition. We can also try to reach out to these public figures,
offer resources if they are needed and encourage them advocate others using
their popularity.
I remember the morning
this all started because I work in another local grocery store. It was during
the last few months of being a courtesy clerk before I was promoted. So I spent
most of that morning in the front end, and we didn't know rather they caught
the gunman or not. So as least some of ourselves and kept on catching ourselves
keeping a eye on the front doors, because we didn't know rather or not that the
gunman would show up at our work too. All we know that she was shot at a Safeway,
we didn't know until later what she was doing there so we thought that it all
happened inside the store.
I also never thought
that she would become a hero to the other people I've met with Hydrocephalus on
Facebook. I knew about head injuries and Hydrocephalus, but I still didn't
think that Gabby would have been diagnosed with it. Both before, but especially
after the accident she did what she could for people with disabilities
(including a job fair for people with disabilities). She resigned last year,
but she still has the power to make a difference.
I don't know how much
she knows about Brain Injury or Hydrocephalus, but I know she's strong enough
and will be able to deal with it. I hope that you've learned something learned
something new from reading this, and I encourage you to look into it more.
Thanks for reading.
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