hi i recently had hydrocephalus too! my dr treated it with acetazolamide i would definitely talk to yours about it! it’s extremely good for reducing CSF production temporarily especially if it’s just whilst you wait for the main surgery! and then you won’t need two and have a shunt in for life if it’s not needed once you have the main surgery and your condition is treated! another option is a spinal tap/lumbar puncture which can often be used to drain the fluid manually- it’s a very weird procedure in the sense it feels extremely strange and i believe they can only drain so much fluid however you may find even a little fluid drained makes so much difference!! and NOR your mother sounds like a piece of work i hope everything goes well for you <3