Alexa's MRI

Wed, June 9 2010
Well, Alexa's MRI is done. She did great, Daddy was amazing, and Mommy - well, hung in there. 

(This is kinda long, sorry!) We made sure there was no runny nose or coughing (that had canceled it last time). We showed up around noon - prime nap time of course and within 20 minutes, they came in with some liquid to sedate her. I offered to give it to her - after all, I am pretty used to shooting medicine down her throat when she's sick. She didn't like the taste, but drank it all.

They said it would be like a glass of wine - man, they were not kidding. She was heavy weight, getting floppy and unable to walk within 10 minutes. After 20 minutes, we were singing to her, walking her - and eventually we laid her on her blanket on the couch. They even turned down the lights for us in the room! Though she wanted to get up, she just couldn't lift herself. Just 5 more minutes and she was out. 

Now, when Alexa was about 5 months old, we had been to the same place to have an MRI of her brain, due to lack of focus in her eyes. So we were very familiar with it and the process. Unfortunately, nothing really prepares you for how tiny and little your baby looks in this enormous machine that so loudly reminds you that you are checking on something rather serious going on in your body. An MRI can take quite a while for them to get the scan. Luckily, although they had originally said they needed 3 scans for a full spinal MRI, they ended up only needing 1, cuz she is so tiny. But this alone took about 20 minutes. 

They let us stay in the room, and as I mentioned, Dave was great. He always is - calm and very focused. As for myself, as opposed to the first time we were here, I was a bit more calm.. And although I refused to let her out of my sight during the scan, I didn't sit there crying the whole time. I was proud of myself! I think it's because I already know (for the most part) what is happening in her body. So it is not as much of a fear of the unknown and "what will we find"?  This was more of just a process... a test, that she was peacefully sleeping through.

To end our day, I stuck around until she came out of her nap/hangover - to which she opened her eyes, gave a big stretch and said "Hi Mommy". Oh - and then she proceeded to run into everything and fall everywhere for the next 3 hours. I had to hold her hand the whole time. In our own house. Long day!

That was Monday. It is now Wednesday, and I just got the call about the results for the MRI from our Pediatrician. Have I mentioned Dr. Livingston before? I love the whole group at Pediatric Medical Center, but I have really come to like Dr. Livingston. She is very patient and goes over every detail - and on top of that, I have actually come to appreciate the kind of doctor who may tend to over-test and double check everything. Especially now. 

So... this is what we found out from the MRI imaging: There is no damage to her spinal cord - it looks normal, and it will continue to stay that way. Her neck looks fine. The fragmented vertebrae (the butterfly vertebrae) are around T2 and continue down through about T6 (the thoracic spine). What they can't tell from this is if there has been any change since doing the xray. This is because the xray was technically done on the chest and not the spine. Alternately, the MRI was done on the spine, not the chest - so we have no new news about the chest/rib fusion.. 

As far as her organs: the good news is that everything else is in tact - the organs are in the right spots...the heart looks ok... and the lungs are good capacity.

The bad news: she is missing one of her kidneys. =( What this means technically, is - not much. But it does mean we have to really protect that one she does have. She will have to see a urologist so they can 'test' it, and will probably have to have this done every so often. This is purely a means of protecting it, since it is her only one. Also - any type of future UTI, we would have to jump on it immediately.) When we had her blood tests done a couple months ago, the kidney test came back normal - so there is no worry as of today.

If you would like to see just one of the many many MRI images, check it out here (below the xrays).

SO - a bit more waiting, next week we have the appt with a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon here in Long Beach, whom I am guessing will be dealing with her spine, but will most likely refer us for her ribs. I also feel blessed to have 2 doctors in the family - my sister and her husband, who have promised to show her images to their Ped Spine specialist at their hospital over in Arizona. 

Again, thank you for all your emails, comments, prayers and hugs - we take every single one to heart, and we love you. Right now, Mommy's trying to distract herself with work and play, and things like margaritas and camping - so help us enjoy this summer please!

The next couple posts, I hope to be cheerier.

xoxo
Chris