ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <html><!-- InstanceBegin template="/Templates/vogtemplate.dwt" codeOutsideHTMLIsLocked="false" --> <head> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="doctitle" --> <title>Danny Gilbert</title> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <style type="text/css"> <!-- body { margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; } --> </style> <link href="../../../vog.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="head" --> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript"> <!-- function MM_openBrWindow(theURL,winName,features) { //v2.0 window.open(theURL,winName,features); } //--> </script> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --> </head> <body> <table width="90%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td class="pagetitle"><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="toptext" --><span class="subtitle">Danny Gilbert</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#0000CC"><img src="../../../gfx/spacers/1x1.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> </table> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="mainbody" --> <table width="90%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td height="19" class="maintext">&nbsp;</td> <td width="231" rowspan="17" align="center" valign="top"><br> <table width="130" border="1" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#69C1F3" cellpadding="3"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#69C1F3" class="boxtitle" align="center">Your Story </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right"> <p><span class="boxtext">You may have read other peoples stories and experiences and would you like to have your story published on www.veinofgalen.co.uk</span></p> <p><a href="../../../forms/familystoryform.htm" target="_self" class="boxlink">Tell Your Story</a> </p></td> </tr> </table> <table width="50%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> </table> <table width="50%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> </table> <table width="130" border="1" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#69C1F3" cellpadding="3"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#69C1F3" class="boxtitle" align="center">Forum</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right"> <p><span class="boxtext">The Vein Of Galen forum is there for you to leave messages and contact other people who have been affected by<br> Vein Of Galen</span></p> <p><a href="http://pub17.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=1447524782&cpv=1" target="_self" class="boxlink">Enter Forum</a> </p></td> </tr> </table> <table width="50%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> </table> <table width="130" border="1" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#69C1F3" cellpadding="3"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#69C1F3" class="boxtitle" align="center">Gallery</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right"> <p class="boxtext">Many of our readers have sent in photgraphs of themselves or their children </p> <p><a href="../../../gallery.htm" target="_self" class="boxlink">Enter Gallery</a> </p></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="19" class="maintext"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="50%" height="149" align="center"><img src="dannygilbert1small.bmp" width="144" height="115"></td> <td width="50%"><p class="faqheader" align="center"> Danny Gilbert</p> <p class="faqheader" align="center"> <span style="font-family: Arial">8th October 2005</span></p> </td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="maintext">&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="maintext">&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="maintext">&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="faqheader"> Danny`s Story </td> </tr> <tr> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt"> <span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">My son Danny was a difficult pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Everything that could go wrong went wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>I had gestational diabetes and preeclampsia and was sick all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>I finally went into labor on October 8, 2005 and when I got to the hospital they had to do an emergency C-section because Danny was transverse (lying sideways) but that evening there he was, 6lbs 4oz and he was perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span></span></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt"> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times New Roman">Doctors checked Danny over and no problems were noted and he went home with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Everything was fine until his four month check up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His head circumference suddenly measured off the charts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>I work as a nurse so I questioned this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The doctors told me it was just normal growth and they would check him again at six months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>At six months his head was still not chartable in size but he was normal otherwise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>My husband and I started to get concerned even though the doctors assured us he was fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We started reading about hydrocephalus and noticed Danny had a lot of the symptoms, large head, bulging head veins and a soft spot that wasn t closing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We took him back to the doctor and asked if this could be his problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The doctor thought this was a possibility and decided to do a CT scan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We had the scan done and they called us back an hour later saying they found a mass and we needed to bring Danny straight to the hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We were at the mall when we got that call and I ll never forget taking the mall stroller back and walking through the mall in a daze crying and not knowing what to do.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt"> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times New Roman">When we got to the hospital we met with a neurosurgeon that showed us the CT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The mass kept getting bigger and bigger and it was right in the middle of his brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Then we met with an oncologist who told us if Danny had a tumor his prognosis was poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They scheduled him for an MRI in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>I kept praying for a miracle and in a way we got one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>After the MRI they told us they had good news and bad news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The good news was Danny didn t have cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The bad news was he had a brain malformation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>But there was a treatment; they were sending us to Cleveland Clinic for surgery.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt"> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times New Roman">When we got to <?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" prefix="st1" ?> <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:place></st1:city> everything happened so fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>There were EKG s and echocardiograms where they told us Danny was in congestive heart failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He was put on medications to treat that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Then the angiogram, after which we heard the diagnosis Vein of Galen for the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Danny had his first embolization on May 23 2006 preformed by Dr. Henry Wu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He saved our son s life, there is no doubt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He was scheduled for his second embolization in July of 2006 but developed post-op complications.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt"> <span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">Days after surgery Danny couldn t keep his formula down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We were back in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Toledo</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ohio</st1:State></st1:place> and doctors kept telling us he had a bug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> We tried to explain he just had brain surgery but they kept him in the hospital for 8 days for monitoring and did nothing else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Danny continued to vomit and we were sent to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:place></st1:city>  s Rainbow Babies and Children s Hospital for treatment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Within days he had intravenous feedings and tube feeding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He had developed gastroperesis (delayed stomach emptying) from the shift in pressure in his head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He went home on tube feeding for two months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span></span> </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt"> <span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">After Danny got better there was a conflict on when to do his next embolization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Cleveland Clinic wanted it done right away but Rainbow wanted to wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He was thriving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>So we waited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>In October 2007 Danny started having seizures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Our neurologist decided it was time to consider another embolization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span></span></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt"> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times New Roman">Danny will be going back to Cleveland Clinic on June 26, 2008 for his second embolizaton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Dr. Thomas Mazaryk will be performing the surgery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We pray everything goes well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> If it does, there are no further embolizations planned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Dr. Mazaryk will treat with gamma knife for the small feeders after Danny s brain is more developed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Thank God for this technology.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt"> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times New Roman">Every day Danny is a miracle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He is strong and brave and funny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He has known more in his 2 ½ years than I have known my entire life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He brings such joy to his dad and I s life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He is the reason I do anything I do in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>There is nothing that can pay him tribute in a proper way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> But through this site, which I have visited so many times since his diagnosis, I can tell his story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>You can know Danny as I have come to know your children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I pray for all of them every day.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt"> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times New Roman">**Update January 2010**<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Just an update, danny will be starting kindergarten next year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> His surgeon was so impressed with his progress and cognitive ability that he put off his next embolization until at least next year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt"> &nbsp; &nbsp; </span></P></td> </tr> <tr> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="faqheader">Pictures Of Danny</td> </tr> <tr> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="maintext"><div align="center">Please click on the image to enlarge it in another window </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="faqheader">&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td><table width="80%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td align="center"><a href="#" onMouseDown="MM_openBrWindow('dgilbert1.htm','','width=450,height=450')"><img src="dannygilbert1small.bmp" name="dgilbert1" width="144" height="115" border="0" id="dgilbert1"></a></td> <td align="center"><a href="#" onMouseDown="MM_openBrWindow('dgilbert2.htm','','width=450,height=450')"><img src="dannygilbert2small.bmp" name="dgilbert2" width="144" height="115" border="0" id="dgilbert2"></a></td> <td align="center"><a href="#" onMouseDown="MM_openBrWindow('dgilbert3.htm','','width=450,height=450')"><img src="dannygilbert3small.jpg" name="dgilbert3" width="144" height="115" border="0" id="dgilbert3"></a></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="maintext">&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="maintext">&nbsp;</td> <td align="center" valign="top">&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="maintext">&nbsp;</td> <td align="center" valign="top">&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="maintext">&nbsp;</td> <td align="center" valign="top">&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="maintext"><div align="right"><a href="../../familystories.htm" target="_self" class="faqlink">Return to the Main Page</a> </div></td> <td align="center" valign="top">&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="maintext">&nbsp;</td> <td align="center" valign="top">&nbsp;</td> </tr> </table> <table width="130" border="1" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#69C1F3" cellpadding="3"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#69C1F3" class="boxtitle" align="center">FAQ</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right"> <p><span class="boxtext">To help answer many of your questions, we have created a FAQ with the help of<br> Dr Wendy Taylor and Professor Karel Ter Brugge </span></p> <p><a href="../../../faq.htm" target="_self" class="boxlink">Read FAQ</a> </p></td> </tr> </table> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --> <table width="90%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#0000CC"><img src="../../../gfx/spacers/1x1.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <div align="center"><a href="../../../welcomegfx/credits.htm" target="_self"><br> <span class="boxlink">Credits</span></a> | <a href="../../../welcomegfx/disclaimer.htm" target="_self" class="boxlink">Disclaimer </a>| <a href="../../../contactus.htm" target="_self" class="boxlink">Contact Us </a> | <a href="../../../updates2005.htm" target="_self" class="boxlink">Site Updates </a><a href="../../../contactus.htm" target="_self" class="boxlink"> </a> | <a href="http://my.statcounter.com/project/standard/stats.php?project_id=599770&guest=1" target="_blank" class="boxlink">Site Statistics </a> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td>&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <td><p align="center" class="maintext">&copy; 2001 - 2006 www.veinofgalen.co.uk </p> <p align="center" class="maintext">Designed and Maintained by Vein of Galen </p> <p align="center" class="maintext"> <!-- Start of StatCounter Code --> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> var sc_project=599770; var sc_partition=4; var sc_security="dbc72c8b"; </script> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://www.statcounter.com/counter/frames.js"></script> </p> <div align="center"> <noscript> <a href="http://www.statcounter.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://c5.statcounter.com/counter.php?sc_project=599770&amp;java=0&amp;security=dbc72c8b" alt="free tracking" border="0"></a> <br> <span class="boxlink">Visitors To www.veinofgalen.co.uk</span> </noscript> <!-- End of StatCounter Code --> </div></td> </tr> </table> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div align="left"></div> </body> <!-- InstanceEnd --></html>