After 4 months of constant headaches that escalate to excrutiating and slowly becoming dyslexia, the Dr. has determined that I have too much pressure on my brain.[shock] The medical name for this is Hydrocephalus and the only recommended treatmet is to have a valve and small tube inserted in my brain, draining into my abdomen. The outcome is expected to be 100% recovery with no ill effects, after an initial 3 month period of being very careful about hitting my head.[grenade] The wife and I have pryed about this and are pretty comfortable (read- nervous as hell but putting in God's hands).
Now to my problem, I had signed up for my New Mexico state sanctioned CCW class for permit and I had to call the instructor to reschedule due to the surgery date. The instructor advised me to find out if my condition and surgery would keep me from obtaining a CCW due to medical reasons.
Does anyone out there have any personal information, websites, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers or even mailing addresses that I could use to answer this question. Our state is filled to the rim with Liberal gun hating politicians and it took us 7 tries on the ballot until the State government finally listened to the people but....
 1. They allowed each city to allow/disallow CCW in that city. (currently being fought in NM Supreme Court as to State Constitutionality.. I think we will win)
 2. They also drug their feet as much as possible regarding the specifics of the bill. i.e. the bill was passed in the 2000 session, the criteria for training was not made available to the instructors until October 2001. (the rest of the bills passed in that session were enacted in June, 2000)
Suffice to say that the information I am requesting is difficult if not impossible to find. Also I am nervous about contacting the wrong official and opening a can of worms. ("Oh, we didn't think of that, hmmm.....no you cannot have the permit").
Sorry for dragging on, guess I'm just a little nervous and don't want this surgery to impact my life any more than it has. I am only 33 years old, way too young to have an incurable disease and I am scared about what else I may not be able to do. Shooting, Motocross, Skiing, Snowboarding and anything else I love.  
And I can think of no other place that I could go to get this information. In looking over this site, I have been amazed at the extended 'family' atmosphere found here. It was a major factor in my coming to a bunch of strangers with this problem.
Thank you in advance for letting me be ramble on about my fears on your site, and for the information.


[%(] ...rage against the dying of the light

Say absolutely nothing to anyone even possibly involved with your CCW.
This pains me but I agree with "raf" also.

First, I wish you well with your surgery.  The rate of morbidity and mortality for this procedure is small, and you should be OK.

If the issue ever comes up, it is best handled by having your doctor write a letter stating that your condition does not exclude you from having a CCW.

Good luck and best wishes.

My best friend has this prob also.He had the surgery a long time ago. Solved prob 100% and holds A CCW in the state of Ia as I do. Id say nothing and just take at a later date. Medical prob not Mental. Take Care.

I live here in NM and I don't remember reading anything about it in the book they give you when you get the application. I don't see a problem unless you develop a mental problem from it. Also the permits are on hold now till March as the Mayor of Albuquerque has convinced the State Supreme Court to look at it. They put a hold on it till March so they can look at the law.

On the medical side, don't sweat the surgery.  Thousands and thousands of shunts (or VP shunts - the little valve) are put in peoples heads every year.  I ve worked with a hundred children with these shunts in place that have had very little problem with them. It's really not that big of a deal, your spine is just creating extra fluid in your head and it is being siphoned off.  The alternative is to do nothing, if so then the headaches, loss of vision, loss of speech start to happen as the pressure increases on the brain.  

Don't be nervous, you'll be perfectly health physically and mentally after the procedure.

On the CCW issue, "Don't ask..Don't tell".  your medical situation has no bearing on your ability to get a CCW, don't even think twice about it.  

After the surgery, you might be cautious about firing that 300 Win Mag until your MD says you can jar every bone in your body safely.

Good luck, piece of cake!

Sorry to hear about your medical situation.  I'm sure everything concerning the procedure will happen without incident, and there won't be any reason for you not to be able to obtain your CCW.  

Chin up, stiff upper lip, and you will be fine.  Remember, 10% of life is what happens [b]to[/b] you, the other 90% is [b]how[/b] you respond.

Your doctor may be right, but if mine suggested this procedure, I'd say thank you very much, I'm getting a second opinion and then maybe we'll go ahead with it.

As far as the CCW, I'm with those who say answer (truthfully) only the questions that are asked, don't volunteer something that may be misunderstood and misused.  There is a big difference between 'neurological' and 'mental'.

It sounds like the instuctor already misunderstands, I would ditch him  for someone else.

It is a fairly simple and common surgery.
Your head will feel better until the shunt blocks off.
Low risk of side effects.
No way it can effect a CCW permit and shooting won't bother it
cpermd.

It shouldn't have any more effect on your CCW-ability than having a double-bypass, having a corn removed, or having a hip joint replaced.

You might want to stay away from shooting during those three months that you're healing, though.  No sense in subjecting yourself to any sudden shock waves.  Check with your doctor.

Andy Warhol had the same thing but IIRC his occured when he was a kid.

Smoke large amounts of cannabis.  Get your Doctor to sign off.

Wiggy- My 12 year old daughter has a shunt that was placed at birth. She has spina biffida. They have come a long way since hers was put in and knock wood, it hasn't had to be changed yet.They are so small that if you don't know where to look for it, you will never find it. The surgery is well worth the results! Best of luck and I'll keep you in my prayers.

Many thanks to all of you on this thread. I am very grateful to you, a group of strangers for your words of encouragement. I have already changed CCW instructors and am looking forward to being headache free. Thanks again for allof the well wishes.

Matt

A friend of mine has a son that had a shunt put in soon after birth.  Now the kid is about 6 years old & runs around like a normal wacko 6 YO.  The doc made it extra long & curled up in his abdomen so it would unroll as he grew.  

He's run head first into many an object, mostly his younger brother.  Whacked a few teeth out on the fireplace, too.  No effect on the shunt.  The kid seems perfectly normal, or maybe he will be when his adult teeth come in. [:)]

Best of luck.