Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Wordy Wednesday: MRI #3

Last Wednesday, Sissy had her third MRI since finding her lumbar lipoma.  I've written a little bit about this before.  This was a very long day.  I had gotten up at 6:00 to prepare for the day.  I knew we'd need to pack snacks and lunches since she would not be able to eat until after the procedure and we'd be heading over to the neurosurgeon's office for his review of the scan.  

The MRI itself isn't a big deal.  The sedation is what bothered me the most.  She had to get an IV in the wrist.  Then we had to wait...1 long hour before we even got to the sedation part.  Sissy is a very inquisitive girl.  I do not try to sugar-coat things for her.  She can handle the truth so I tell her what to expect.  When she went under sedation in the MRI room, I cried.  It's the hardest thing to see your little baby go through something you've never done yourself.  It was tough, but we all survived.  She went in the machine at 12:45 and came out at 2:15.  We waited about half an hour before heading over to the doctor's office to make sure she came out of the sedation okay.  At the doctor's office we waited nearly 2 HOURS in the waiting room.

In my opinion, I think the patients who were having MRI or scans the same day, should be allowed to be seen as soon as they arrive.  Instead, we were nearly the last people to be seen.  Finally, at 5:00 in the evening, we saw the doctor.  He confirmed our suspicions of having to have surgery within the next year.  The tumor has grown a little more than expected but according to the scan, it's not tethering into the spinal cord.  The doctor isn't convinced that there aren't any microscopic shoots because he's never seen anything as big as her tumor that doesn't tether.  Since the evidence points to no tethering, technically, he would not be able to do the surgery.  Conveniently, he had a cosmetic surgeon friend who could perform the surgery and allow him to assist, which is what he really wants to do.  

Honestly, I feel like he is more intrigued and wants to "guinea pig" our daughter.  He is the best pediatric neurosurgeon in the United States, so I can't blame him for wanting to be involved.  But of course, then the blood issue came up and he said he would respect our wishes as long as everything went fine, however if something was going wrong and he needed to "save our daughter's life" then he would do whatever was necessary to save her.  I totally disagreed and told him so.  With all the new medical advancements in bloodless techniques, you'd think he would get on the bandwagon and read some information.  There are several hospitals where doctors routinely perform serious surgeries without blood.  You'd think pediatric surgeons would be interested in life-saving techniques without the use of someone else's possibly tainted blood.  We are interested in finding the best healthcare possible for our daughter, if it means driving across the country to find a doctor who will perform the surgery, then that's what we'll do.  In the meantime, we're in no hurry to put her life at risk when everything is going smoothly right now.  We have time on our side and we'll take advantage of that time to find an appropriate physician.

Here's some pictures of our day:

Arriving at the hospital

Getting her wristband ID

Daddy trying to distract her during the blood pressure check

Her "robot arm" (what we called it to make it more exciting and fun)

The nurses surprised her with a balloon

Coming out of anesthesia

They put the oxygen monitor on her toe...she thought it was pretty

Nana surprised her with a present

It's Strawberry Shortcake!
That was the beginning of our long day...I should have taken pictures of the doctor's visit, but I was too irritated and too pooped to get the camera out.  

Enjoy!

Have a great day and enjoy the Wordless Wednesday linky below:
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9 comments:

Hannah said...

Wow Candi it looks like she (and the rest of the family) did wonderfully considering the circumstances. I can't imagine how long of a day that ended up being but I admire you fighting not only to do whats best for your daughter but also to keep Jehovah's standards at any cost. No doubt he will continue to be with you all, comforting and strengthing as you deal with all this. I love you!

Susie said...

What a brave little girl!

alicia said...

Aw, what a tough cookie. Happy WW!

April L said...

We are so proud of all of you! What a tough day, but she was so brave and so were you! Sounds like you're doing the right thing. You're in our prayers.

Unknown said...

What a brave girl! It sounds like it was quite a day.

Carrie said...

Yikes I know that was harrowing for you. Hugs to you - she looks so grown and so pretty in these pics :-)

msudmom said...

Hi Candi, I am usually just an observer. But today I want to share with you my experience with bloodless surgery for children. You have a long road to go down and If you want to talk just email me at msudmom@gmail.com

Jenna @ Newlyweds said...

Bless her heart, I am so glad she did well, all considering. You did good too Mommy.

Marni's Organized Mess said...

Wow! Great shots! I love the pink oxygen thing! That is way cool! Looks like you both did great too! Only, I'm sure I know how your nerves felt...

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