Mr. Little goes to Washington

The nation's capital at dawn

Countdown to Washington: 3 weeks and five (5) days

As one of my favorite expressions says "this isn't my first rodeo" as far as visiting Washington, but it will be my first time going to represent a cause that effects so many lives. As I alluded to in my last blog, hydrocephalus occurs in one to two births out of every 1,000 making it as prevalent as Down syndrome and more common than spina bifida or brain tumors combined. Interestingly, according to an article I found on Medscape, hydrocephalus occurs in an estimated 15 - 25 percent of children with open myelomeningocele (a form of spina bifida) at birth. Of those, 80 - 90 percent of those will need surgery to implant a shunt.

As you read this, you might ask what good going to Washington will do. Currently, there is no cure for hydrocephalus only shunting which decreases cranial size by allowing the excess Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) to drain from the skull. Done at birth, shunt surgery can give a child with hydrocephalus a near-normal size head. In going to Washington for the rally (which is a yearly event) I and others "give a face" to a condition that many of the elected officials have probably never heard of. But, as my family has reminded me, it's bigger than that because I am representing everyone with disability and proving that we can be productive citizens that give back to our community.