The MRI Day

I can never express enough how grateful I am for the people in Nea's life.  We have been so blessed to have come across such amazing people who work tirelessly for her.  I know people say things like "you're an amazing Mama" and "what a great parent" and I appreciate the compliments.  However, I'm just Mom and I do the things I do because I love my daughter unconditionally. But there are real heroes in my child's life, and for that I have not enough words of thanks.

It's an interesting set of fear and emotions when your child is undergoing some sort of high risk procedure.  It's even more interesting when that procedure is done at the place you work every single day.  And it really is extraordinarily interesting when said procedure will be done in the department you work in and the people you work with side by side.

Believe me, I was scared.

I wasn't scared of the team.  I trusted the doctor, the nurses, the child life specialist,  the MRI techs, etc. in the whole process.  The problem is I knew too much and it was hard stopping my mind from jumping from A to Z.  The bottom line is we make sedation procedures very safe.  We monitor children very closely.  We have lots of expertise, knowledge and emergency training.  We put safeguards in place constantly.  But, things can still happen. Just because we read "the book", doesn't mean the kids do.

Nea's OT worked us in for an early therapy session prior to the MRI.  She put her in the swing, she put her in the ball pit, she pulled her around on the scooter.  Nea was very chilled by the time we left.  She also was hungry!  However, she couldn't have anything to eat and drink until her sedation procedure was over.

So what do you do with a hungry 2 y/o who you can't feed and you have 90 min to kill?

You take her to the park!!

When you take your kid to a hospital that focuses on kids....it makes all the difference.  When we were in the waiting room, the receptionist gave Nea a purple backpack of fun stuff like crayons, hand shakers, coloring books, etc.  It was the perfect distraction while I filled out paperwork!

Waiting to do the MRI

One of the kiddos that had just had his test done and now awake, came into the room with his parents.  He was really upset and crying.  Nea stopped her coloring and looked at him for a long while.  I explained to her that he was really sad but his Mamma and Poppa were helping him feel better.  She kept watching and finally said..."uhmm...its okay"

Wow.

We were taken to the prep room where Nea was checked over, vital signs done (she did great!), and the doc came to talk to me.  Admittedly, it's really kinda funny because the doc and I work closely together all the time and teach families about procedural sedation.  I let her off the hook and told her I didn't need the full 20min lesson. :-)

Versed is a great drug.  It makes you sleepy, pretty loopy and downright happy to be on the planet.  It also has an amazing side effect of amnesia.  So even if things became unpleasant for Nea, she would never remember.  Why is that important?  It's important (and not just for her, but for every kid) that she is able to build positive experiences.  It's important that she has a trusting relationship with medical staff and that she not fear them.  We CAN make things pleasant for kids, and it's the right thing to do.  We have numbing lotion for IV starts, we let Mom or Dad hold a kid during an IV start or even putting in a catheter.  We can do some pretty cool stuff for kids, so that they have positive experiences.

Enter the Child Life Specialist.

It's an amazing profession.  Google it and understand who these people are and what they do.  In short, they make sure that kids are allowed to be kids and they are not overwhelmed.  They advocate for them so they minimize pain and fear.  They teach kids about their diagnosis in a language they understand.  And they make sure that trust is built.

Nea's IV was started relatively easily, and she went with one of the nurses to the MRI suite.  No tears, no fear, just snuggled right into her as she carried her into the room.  (Thanks Versed!).

I slipped back into the waiting room while they began sedating her.  I'm told she did well, no problems with sedation and went right to sleep.  The Child Life Specialist even told me, "She sighed deeply.....and drifted off."  My guess is that as the medication hit her system, it probably made her feel very heavy and that probably felt very good to her.

The scan was completed in an hour.  The Child Life Specialist and I had come up with a plan for waking up so that it was not scary and not stressful.  The bean bag, the weighted lead apron on her waist and legs, her own special blankie, and her paci.'s (one to chew and one to hold).

She woke up like no kid I've ever seen.  It was like she was waking up from a really nice nap.

Bean bag with lead apron

So, in recap Nea's day looked  like this to her......

"I saw my friend "A" and her cool play toys.  I went to the park for some fun with Mamma.  I met new people at Mamma's work.  The nice lady let me play with her iPad (must tell Poppa about that new app.).  The other nice lady let me snuggle with her (I was kinda sleepy).  I took a long nap.  I was able to get a wagon ride.  We came home and I ate fries."

Ernie was "the chosen one" for this experience

It was an amazing day.