Featured Image Credit: Mystic Aquarium
By Kira Krall
Evie Helms recently got the experience of a lifetime when she came face-to-face with a seal that has the same brain condition she has. Resident Mystic Aquarium seal Ziggy Star and Evie both have hydrocephalus that causes fluids to accumulate in their brains.
Ziggy Star was rescued from California’s shores in 2013 after nearly starving due to her condition. After a few years at Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, she made history as the first seal to receive a shunt catheter. Tufts University doctors spent an hour placing the catheter in her skull that drains fluid to her abdomen. This surgery will allow her brain’s extra fluid to be safely absorbed by her abdominal organs and tissues. According to Aquarium staff, Ziggy is recovering swimmingly and hasn’t had a seizure since her surgery.
Evie and her family share a love of the ocean and Evie, in particular, is very fond of seals. Their meeting was given extra significance by Ziggy’s recent surgery and recovery. The Aquarium hopes that Ziggy’s success story will help Evie through her own treatments. Evie has had four surgeries and may have more on her road to health.