Friday, April 3, 2009

MRI's, Playing in the Rain, One Happy Family!

James had his MRI yesterday and it went well. Even though the day started out pouring rain, it went much better than the EEG!! This time I made sure to get all the information on procedure for the test beforehand so we wouldn't get any surprises when we walked in! We left a couple hours early and headed to the mall since that worked really well last time on distracting him from being hungry and thirsty. We rented one of those "car strollers" from the mall and he had the time of his life rolling around in it. He did exceptionally well with out eating or drinking (except for the time that I picked up a bottle of perfume to smell it and he spit his pappy out thinking it was something to drink!) for the 3 hours we had to kill. When we got to the center they immediately took us back to get all our information and explain to us exactly what would take place. The nurse (which happened to be a man and the manager of the facility) and the anesthesiologist were soooo nice and very easy to talk to. He explained exactly what both of the meds he was going to get were and told us how safe they were. Even though they were very attentive to us and our feelings, every now and then they would inject some lighthearted humor which made the whole process much more relaxed and peaceful!! In the middle of our conversations with them, we discovered that the anesthesiologist's in-laws attend church at Vero Beach, small world huh?They gave James an oral medicine to make him relaxed, well really to make him drunk again, so that he wouldn't fight as much when they inserted his iv to administer the medicine that would actually put him completely out for the scan. If only I'd had my camera because it was hilarious! He got real droopy eyed and loopy with a continuous grin on his face. He kept kissing me and sticking is tongue out and giggling. Jon laughed and said "at least he's not a mean drunk!" About ten minutes later I had to lay him down on the table and try my best to comfort him while he was getting poked and prodded. With the first stick, the vein popped because they had to pressure on his arm, so they had to stick him again, in the other hand. But that one worked and in less than a minute he was getting sweet sleep medicine pumped into his veins. About a minute later he was out, mouth wide open! The nurse hadn't wanted us to stay, he thought it would be to hard on us. Since he was in the NICCU for a month he said we'd had to see our baby get poked and prodded enough as it was in his short little life. The anesthesiologist wanted us to stay, he said he felt like it made it easier for the child. So, we stayed. And even though it was tough to watch we are glad we did stay. We had to leave him when it was time for him to go back for the scan. That was tough too but we knew he was in good hands.The nurse came out to check on us 3 times to make sure we were okay and to reassure us that everything was going well and that James was just fine. The Lord certainly blessed us yesterday with those two men who took such good care of our son. They were so attentive to our feelings and were so very gentle with James. Medical experiences can be challenging but when you have good people taking care of you, it makes the whole process so peaceful. And peace is definitely what parents need in times such as these! It took a little more than an hour from the time he went to sleep to the time he woke up. It would have taken less but they said James started to wake up during the scan so they had to give him a little more medicine which made it take a little longer for him to wake up. I've always known he was a light sleeper but honestly! It was raining so hard out side, our nurse told Jon to go get the van and pull around to the CT part of the building where there was a garage and he escorted James and I through the back part of the building to meet Jon so we wouldn't get wet. You can't ask for much more!!They told us he could have clear foods and if he could keep that down for 30 minutes then we could start on the solids. Well, he was the biggest crank pot EVER after he woke up (who can blame him?)and me and Jon were starving so we stopped at the grocery and got him some jello and juice and even though he was ticked off at the world he chowed down on that jello! We then stopped at Chick-fil-a for us and as soon as he saw those fries he went nuts. It had been almost 30 minutes since the jello so I started giving him little pieces of fries. Needless to say, he ended up eating most of mine!! He had no crazy reaction to the drugs and once we got home and he and Audrey were reunited, he was back to our sweet baby James! Like I said earlier, the day started raining and it ended raining. We let them wander out on the front porch after supper and they thoroughly enjoyed playing in the rain. Once their teeth started chattering and their lips turned blue, we took them in and gave them a bath.
We have an appointment with the neurologist next Thursday, April 9 at 3:30 to discuss the test results. That is if both tests are back by then. The MRI can take 7-10 days to get back. They also have their 18 month check up with our pediatrician on Wednesday the 8th. I am very anxious to get to talk to Dr. Walker about all of this. I hope every one has a wonderful and blessed weekend. We are going "home" tomorrow for an Easter party and to attend Cool Springs on Sunday. I can't wait!!!

3 comments:

Dianne said...

Good post, 'manda,

I LOVE how you let the little chirren play in the rain and get wet and have a good time.

I have watched my daughter with her daughter and I MISS that I was such an uptight mom. Everything was so different then. But, I LOVE to see Moms and Dads interact so wonderfully with the children. And, this blog was reinforcement of how relaxed you and Jon are as parents and how well James and Audrey respond.

Beautiful family. Hope your Easter party is a GRAND homecoming. Love you all.

Sydney Sanders said...

fun! I hope you guys have such a great time at cool springs! audge sounds like she held down the fort while you three headed to the doctor :) her diaper was sagging so low in that first picture! (closet thug) so cute! tell james I am so proud of him for being so brave at the doctor! (he deserves to be a little cranky!) AND GET SOME FRENCH FRIES :)

Anonymous said...

What a precious pic of Audrey...she looked like she was laughing so hard...

How sweet to let them play out in the rain...nothin like a good old mud puddle...

Thanks for sharing in depth about the MRI...bless his little heart, We are praying for the best!

Can't wait for ya'll to get here!It won't be long... Love you all, nb