** Happy Birthday to the PHF!: This January, the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation, Inc. celebrates the third year since our inception in 2009.**

Thanks to your generous support, the PHF celebrated many successes and accomplishments in the year 2011.

A PHF initiative at the end of 2010, 2011 started off with the formation in the U.S. Congress of the 1st ever Congressional Pediatric & Adult Hydrocephalus Caucus, founded by Congressman Leonard Lance of New Jersey & Congressman Tim Walz of Minnesota, which now stands at 20 members. For more information about the Hydrocephalus Caucus, please click here.

In a 12 month span, (December 2010 – December 2011), the PHF has awarded $70,000.00 in grants and donations to Hospitals, Neuroscience Institutes and Medical Research Centers for Hydrocephalus Research & Education. For information on the PHF’s Grant & Donation program, please click here.

The PHF, an all-volunteer 501 (c) (3) dues free non-profit charitable organization, now boasts thousands of members across the Country, with 20 State Chapters, and more to come!

Last September, the PHF hosted the 1st ever Hydrocephalus Awareness Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with over 25 speakers, and families from over 15 States participating. With the success of this visit, we will be hosting the next one in August of 2012.

Mackenzie Holcomb, 11 years old of Ohio, and Jaden Brown, 18 months old of Colorado, will serve as the PHF’s 2012 Ambassadors for our National Face of Hydrocephalus Awareness Campaign.

Jaden was born in April 2010, unknowingly as a healthy child with no known health issues at birth. Jaden’s head started to grow at a rapid rate around 4 month of age. My older son has a “large head” and has had an MRI to confirm that there is no medical condition. So at Jaden’s 4 month well check- we all didn’t think much of his “big head”. When his head continued to grow our doctor recommended he have an ultrasound which, then lead us to an MRI and neurosurgery consultation. Because of where we live in Southwest Colorado, we have to travel to Colorado Children’s Hospital for specialty treatment which is about 350 miles from where we live. During the first visit with Jaden’s Neurosurgeon, we learned about the large amount of extra-axial fluid on his brain and that Jaden had also suffered a stroke.

He has a large amount of brain damage affecting the left side of his brain and right side of his body. Jaden’s diagnosis is Hydrocephalus, infant Stroke, Cerebral Palsy and a vision condition called Cortical Vision Impairment. Jaden had his Shunt placed in 10-2010. Knock on wood his one and only shunt is working well and his MRI’s show a lot of improvement fluid wise. Jaden works hard with physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. He is little to no use of the right side of his body and is developmentally delayed. His movement is = to a 6 month old, and cognitive = to a 12 month old.