OK you've noticed he is a bit cross eyed.  

Yes, he has problems with his eyes.  The trouble is how do you test a child's eyesight properly when they can't tell you what they see!   We were told that a squint is common in children with hydrocephalus.   He wears a patch over one eye part of the time to try to encourage his other eye to work normally.   To be honest I don't see that it makes much difference.   As soon as the patch comes off his eyes go back to the way they were before.  Never mind, he recognizes us all and is vain enough to enjoy looking in a mirror.

    On this one you can see the lump on the back of his head caused by the latest shunt.

In September 1999 there was a big event in his life.   He had a new baby sister.

Here they are, Ryan with his mum and his baby sister.   His newborn sister is wearing a suit he wore when he was 6 months old (it was a bit big on him even then!)

Ryan likes having his photo taken which is lucky because it happens a lot.

   But then, could you resist this if you had a camera?

During the winter Ryan seemed to catch every illness going.   It seemed like he was never going to be strong enough to fight off infections, even "common" colds without hospital visits.   He's a resilient little thing though and bounces back each time grinning.

By Christmas we are all excited.   Ryan could drag himself up on furniture (and people) and was interested in everything going on around him. A big change from Christmas 1998 and things were getting better all the time.

   Not the best picture but he's on his feet!

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