Edwin is the name I gave to the old fractured catheter I have in me. He runs all the way from my neck to my abdomen, but the painful fracture runs right along my sternum. During my last shunt surgery (August 2013) Edwin was disconnected from my old shunt and just left to decay further.
Now Edwin is approximately eighteen inches of brittle silicon tubing abandoned in my chest wall and abdomen. His name is the same as the middle name of my current neurosurgeon. Pieces of Edwin will only be removed when they become more troublesome than they are now. As Edwin continues to break apart (he is a now a 29-year-old piece of once-flexible, now brittle tubing), his additional pieces could pierce a nearby internal organ (liver, bowel, stomach), or appear externally through an already existing hole or through my skin.
Though the chances of any of these thing happening are rare, Edwin does continue to poke at my sternum, where the original fracture is. I think the pain is due to inflammation of the tissue surrounding my sternum.
