PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Oh Lady of Shalott!
The somber forest huddles,
The dark skies spread for miles,
The water slithers past the sedges and down the stream.
Oh Lady of Shalott!
Your pale face screams of terror,
Your eyes howl and your tears deluge into the river,
Your voice trembles as it sings its last song.
Oh Lady of Shalott!
The tempest whistles, the candles are blown,
Your vermillion hair sways from the screeching storm,
Your quilt slips and drowns into the frigid water,
Of the calm and beautiful Camelot river.
Slowly your grip loosens,
The rusty chain slips out of your stone-cold hand,
Ricocheting onto the surface of the water,
Then sinking to the bottom of the bed.
You lie in the presence of the Lord,
Your hand rests on the side of the boat,
Your tender voice fades,
Your breaths shorten.
Jade Mace
English 9A
Mrs.Dowty
April 11, 2017
In “The Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, the main character, Junior, suffers from a cerebral disease called hydrocephalus. This Illness is located in the brain, and happens when an abundance of cerebrospinal fluid is released, and has entered the brain ventricles. This causes for an incredibly high amount of pressure to be put on the brain tissues resulting in harm to the delicate organ. (Mayo Clinic)
Cerebrospinal fluid—otherwise known as CSF— is a transparent substance that is meant to protect the delicate organ from possible injuries. It also clears harmful chemicals out of the brain. Normally, cerebrospinal fluid is meant to exit the brain through its four connected ventricles which are also connected to the central canal of the spinal cord (Cerebrospinal Fluid CSF). The first ventricle, which is the lateral ventricle, is connected to the third ventricle through a system called the interventricular system of Monro. The lateral ventricle is connected to the fourth ventricle—located in the hindbrain (The Ventricular System and CSF). From there the fourth ventricle is connected to the Foramina of Luschka which is one of the ways in which cerebrospinal fluid exits the brain (Medical Definition of Foramina of Lushka).
There are many symptoms that may lead to possible proof of hydrocephalus in the brain. Muscular problems such as walking abnormally, and having stiff muscles may lead to such proof. Gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, and vomiting may also be features of hydrocephalus. Finally, there are many other uncategorized prodromes that may be indications of hydrocephalus. These include head size abnormality, not being able to balance accordingly, crying with a very high-pitched voice, being constantly confused, being very sleepy, having bad head aches, etc. (Staff, Mayo Clinic)
Although hydrocephalus has no cure, and does not usually let diagnosed patients live more than ten years, making it quite a deadly disease, there are two surgical procedures designed to help this disorder. The most common one would be a surgically inserted shunt. This shunt would be placed to drain out all of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) out of the brain. The second procedure possible, used for much rarer cases, is an endoscopic third ventriculostomy. For this procedure, a neurosurgeon will surgically enter the brain with a small video camera, and poke a small hole in one of the ventricles to create a passageway to help the cerebrospinal spinal fluid (CSF) to flow out of the brain (Mayo Clinic).
It is difficult to establish exactly the number of people who have been diagnosed with this condition as there is no national registry or database to say the exact number. Although, experts have estimated that around 1 in 500 people are likely to get this disease.
In spite of the fact that hydrocephalus is a very deadly disease, and kills around 50% of its patients that don’t usually get to live very long after being diagnosed with the illness, new medical studies, and improvements have helped researchers, and doctors get closer to finding a cure (Facts and Stats).
Although Junior only talks about hydrocephalus in a couple of small areas of the book, the disease is obviously something that greatly effects his life. As he shows us in the book, this disease didn't just effect him by causing mental pain, but also causing physical, and emotional pain. He states—“First of all, I ended up having forty-two teeth. The typical human has thirty-two, right? But I had forty-two.” (Alexie 2)— Junior had ten more than the normal human would have. He also expresses that his condition left him “nearsighted in one eye and farsighted in the other” (3). Finally he says that as an effect from his huge brain, bullying was a big part of his life, “My head was so big that little Indian skulls orbited around it. Some of the kids called me Orbit. And other kids just called me Globe. The bullies would pick me up, spin me in circles, put their finger down my skull, and say, ‘I want to go there’” (3).
This disease obviously effects him greatly in terms of emotional feelings. Each of these factors cause great consequences in terms of creating friendships and such, as well as having all of these physically abnormal elements that come with the hydrocephalus disease. Although this is a very critical, and extreme disease, Junior is proof that success is not demolished as a cause from hydrocephalus.
