The proclamation by Gov. John Hickenlooper designating September as Hydrocephalus Awareness Month came through the effort of a Durango woman whose son has the condition.

Christina Brown drafted a proclamation in mid-July and sent it to the governor’s office. She learned a month later it had Hickenlooper’s signature.

Brown’s son, 3½-year-old Jaden, has hydrocephalus, a swelling of the brain caused by an accumulation of the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, a condition found in one in 500 births.

About 1 million adults and children in the United States have hydrocephalus.

Brown said she found support from the region’s representatives in Washington, D.C., when she visited Capitol Hill with 140 members of the national Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation last week. The contingent represented the country from coast to coast.

Brown is the founder and director of the Colorado chapter of the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation. She can be reached at christina@hydrocephaluskids.org.

She said U.S. Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet and U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton appeared receptive when she urged them to support efforts to fund hydrocephalus education and research.

Brown said Jaden is doing very well and is receiving speech, physical and occupational therapy.

daler@durangoherald.com