Daniel's MRI

Thank you all for your prayers and concern for Daniel's MRI. I thought I'd write an update about how it went and the results, which we got back yesterday.

Daniel did great through the whole process.  We had to be there at 8:00 in the morning, which was nice to be early since he couldn't have any food or drink beforehand.  We were very impressed withe the facility...a children's hospital really feels different than a regular one.  There were bright colors on every wall, it seemed, and lots of toys and play areas.  Even in the non-descript office/lab we went into to fill out paperwork, there was a little riding toy in the corner.  After we got all the necessary stuff filled out, we got Daniel dressed in the smallest hospital gown I have ever seen.  It was really, really cute.  One of the doctors came to tell us what to expect when Daniel would get the laughing gas.  I got to back with him when he got the laughing gas, and he was happy until I had to lay him down on the table and they put the mask over his nose and mouth.  Then he started crying, but it actually helped put him to sleep faster since he was taking deep breaths.  This was the hardest part for me.  Even though I knew the procedure was pretty simple in the eyes of the doctors, it was hard for me to leave our little boy with people I didn't know and didn't know him.  I actually came back to the waiting room with tears in my eyes.  Of course, it didn't help that the whole time I kept thinking about a recent Reader's Digest report of medical malpractice.  It's amazing what one's mind can go to in such moments!

I was escorted back to the waiting room, where we waited for about an hour.  After that, they called us back to a little hospital room where he was asleep in a rolling crib.  He woke up pretty soon after that, and we actually were laughing since he was pretty loopy.  He looked like one would imagine a drunk one-year-old to look.  Kind of dizzy with a silly grin on his face.  It took him a little while to get his bearings, which they said was normal.  But thankfully he gulped down a whole sippy cup full of juice (undiluted, which he never gets at home!).  Then we got to dress him and take him home. 

I was struck, while waiting in the waiting room, at how so many people come to hospitals for much, much more serious tings than this.  And as scary as it was for me to leave our little boy in the hands of those I didn't know and walk away, this was a very normal procedure that they do every day.  We were not there for a major surgery, or a terminal illness, or getting news of either of these.  Thinking about this made me grateful for the health of our two kids (and ourselves).  The Lord has been so good to us, for more than we deserve.

We actually got the results back from the MRI last night!  The good news is that he doesn't have Tuberous Sclerosis, which his doctor thought he might have.  What i show up, though, is a very small cyst on the left side of his brain.  Because the cyst is so tiny, there are no pressure changes on the brain right now.  Daniel's doctor things the cyst probably won't grow, but we'll need to monitor it in about 6 months to make sure.  If the cyst should grow or start putting pressure on the brain, we would look into other options.  The good thing is that the developmental delays he's having now are probably all he'll have to deal with.  I was quite relieved to hear these results back.  In some ways, it's helpful knowing that there's a reason for the physical delays and stiffness.  I'm also relieved that it is not something bigger like Tuberous Sclerosis, which would have possibly more serious implications later on.  So all in all, thanks for your prayers.  My current prayer is that God would miraculously dissolve the cyst, so that when we go in for a CT scan, we can testify to His healing power as a witness to the doctors involved.  I also pray that if God chooses not to take the cyst away, that it will not grow and cause any more symptoms than Daniel already has.  In either case, we trust God with the health of both of our children.  Thanks for all your prayers and emails.