I’m excited. Sort of. We finally got the call from our neurosurgery office with the date for Mason’s brain and spine MRI. This is a scan we’ve known was coming. The doctors will be able to get detailed pictures of every centimeter of Mason’s brain and spine and it will act as a baseline for future scans if problems develop as Mason grows.
What problems? I don’t like to think about them, but a few potential ones are trouble with his Chiari II Brain malformation, a tethered spinal cord, or fluid pockets around the spine (syrinx). The problems stemming from these are varied, with loss of nerve function even higher than he has now being the big one for the last two. The Chiari is usually asymptomatic and we’re praying Mason’s stays that way. If not he could develop problems with breathing, swallowing, eating, and more. (See why I don’t like to think about it?)
The doctors came to the decision that for Mason’s MRI he will need to be completely put under anesthesia so he will stay still. There are always risks with anesthesia but Mason has done well with it in every surgery so far. The MRI won’t involve surgery, just taking pictures. Because they are taking images of the entire brain and spine a slice at a time the MRI will take approximately 2 hours. The official date is February 15th, with our arrival time at the hospital before 6am.
We’ll see what we learn from this!
They usually just put our little ones into a very deep sleep (sedation). Not really anesthesia... they still breathe on themselves. But nevertheless they are monitored.
ReplyDeleteBut I have to admit: My daughter was more cranky and sleepy after the MRI then after the surgeries... but she was also only 8 months old at her first MRI. Her next one scheduled for February as well.
Greetings from Germany
Steffi with Amaya
Steffi - that is what they considered doing with Mason (sedation). In the end it was decided to go with full anesthesia and intubation. They decide on a case by case basis here, I think when the child is older they more often choose sedation here, not sure.
ReplyDeleteThink of Mason often! Please give him a squeeze from his fans in SD! Halle has her MRI this spring.
ReplyDeleteChrista
As always, Mason and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. With a newborn I have been too inarticulate to comment until now, and even now it could be disputed. Hope that the tiger is working for you. Hope that you get it hammered out before your new one arrives as I am finding out that waiting to wean Lliam from mama was not the best idea for fostering love between an 11 month old and his newborn brother. And I am sure you don't need it but I want to reaffirm how awesome Miralax is-my oldest used it for years without negative side effects (other than intended ones) and without developing a dependency on it. Anyway, thanks for sharing your beautiful baby with us. And Happy Birthday to Mason (a few days early)!
ReplyDeleteJust in case you do not know about this movie..our family watched Miracle in Lane 2 with Frankie Muniz for family night. It is based on life of a boy named Justin Yoder who has spina bifida. My son and daughters really enjoyed watching it, especially my son who has spina bifida.
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