HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — Like many eight year olds, Brooklynn Reiter spends her time drawing, playing music, and cheering on her Oakland Raiders.

“Because my dad likes them. And me and my dad watch them,” Brooklynn said.

Now, she’ll add another activity to that list: being a 2019 ambassador for the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation.

Hydrocephalus is a rare brain condition, affecting around one in every 500 babies.

“The fluid around your brain doesn’t drain on its own,” father John Reiter explained.

Brooklynn has undergone one surgery every year to clear the fluid.

“It felt weird at first. But whenever you fall asleep. It doesn’t feel that weird,” Brooklynn said.

As a parent, her father says its tough to see his daughter go through something so painful.

“Its scary. You don’t really know whats going to happen from one day to the next,” John Reiter said. “The shunts on average have a 50% success rate. They either work or they don’t,”

So far, Brooklynn’s shunts have been successful.

Now, her goal is to raise awareness about the rare condition.

“Some people don’t know what the word means and they don’t know how to say it,” Brooklynn said.

Her motto echoes her favorite team.

“Just win baby.”

Source:

8-Year-Old Brooklynn Reiter From South Carolina Selected as 2019 National Ambassador of Hydrocephalus Awareness for Incurable Brain Condition

First time we ever heard the word hydrocephalus was when I was 20+ weeks pregnant at a ultrasound. She was born on 12-31-10 and had her first ETV surgery at 4 days old.

After about a month she was back in surgery for another ETV attempt due to the first one closing. A month later she was in surgery again to place a shunt.

She has had 4 shunt revisions since then. The latest being just this past November 4th, you can find a more in depth post about that on my Facebook page.

Brooklynn has also had surgery to correct the nerves behind her eyes due to the pressure. So, she has had a total of 8 surgeries due to hydrocephalus.

She was also diagnosed with IS as a baby but has since been seizure free.