Over 1 in 1000 babies are born with a condition called hydrocephalus which causes excess fluid to build in the brain. It's more common than down's syndrome but nobody has heard of it. Without treatment, it's fatal.
These children are given a brain implant that drains fluid from the brain into the abdomen or chest.
The teddy shunt valve is a toy for these children so their teddy can have a shunt valve just like them. It's a great way to normalise and explain the brian implant.
The materials and toy are all laboratory tested to EU standards and they are certified as safe for play for children over the age of 3 and come with the following warning : Choking Hazard - Small Parts.
There are now 150 teddies so far around the world with shunt valves so far. Every one of them is raising awareness and helping educate and normalise. It's quite special.
They take over 2 hours each to 3d print, and then are manually assembled, packed, and individually posted. I am happy to make these for only £10 + postage. This means they are affordable to everyone and my costs are covered.
You purchase the shunt valve, and use an existing teddy. The shunt valve is designed to be hand sewn onto the teddy in the same place as your childs.
If they dont appear in the etsy store, this means they are out of stock and you'll need to wait. I dont take pre-orders, just list items as I finish them.
This is my daughter Madilyn. She has Chiari 1 Malformation and due to unfortunately suffering complications after her 2nd decompression surgery in October 2019, she had to have a VP shunt fitted; exactly 1 year ago today on 23 - 12 - 19. Although Madilyn is a teenager and understood what was happening to her, the trauma of it all stills lives within her. So thank you from the bottom of my heart Nick, because when we surprised her with this earlier today, she was totally overwhelmed and overcome with emotion; she hasn’t let go of him all day! I guess what I’m trying to say is, not only is the teddy shunt an ingenious educational tool for use with younger children to understand their condition, it also brings comfort and helps those that little bit older to reconcile with it too.
