A condition in which excess spinal fluid builds up in a person's brain cavities, creating internal pressure and potentially causing headaches, cognition problems, physical impairments, and other severe health issues. Robert Ross’s older sister, Rowena, is afflicted with this illness. She is bound to a wheelchair and has exceeded her life expectancy by a decade when she dies in an accident at age twenty-five.
Get the entire The Wars LitChart as a printable PDF.
Hydrocephalus Term Timeline in The Wars
The timeline below shows where the term Hydrocephalus appears in The Wars. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 3
...wealthy family who upheld a charitable public image and excluded Rowena (who was wheelchair-bound with hydrocephalus) from most photographs. She is featured in one photo, holding a white rabbit in her...
(full context)
Part 1, Chapter 6
...are emotionally prepared for her death since, at twenty-five, their daughter had already outlived her hydrocephalus prognosis by ten years.
(full context)
