Check Your Head

The board book on the table was called “How Can I Make My Insides Smile for the Camera?” and it explained what an MRI was for those who still got their information from… well, board books. Unfortunately, Jeffrey doesn’t read yet, so we just glossed over the details with him. Mostly we were surprised that he wasn’t screaming for food, since a requirement of the anesthesia was no feeding after 3 AM. We got to the hospital at 6:30 AM and got redirected a few times before finally finding the correct registration desk.

Our little heavyweight tipped the scales at 12 pounds at check-in. The nurses had a little difficulty getting an O₂ sat on him, but he’s always been that way. “Transportation” came down to bring us into the MRI room, where we met with the doctors who would be administering the anesthesia and performing the diagnostic imaging. Jeffrey had to remove his onesie (it had metal buttons) and put on an unbelievably small hospital gown. They advised us about the risks of anesthesia, told us that he’s probably be tired all day and might have a sore throat from being intubated. Mom and I each gave him a kiss and went to family waiting room where they would contact us when he was finished. There really wasn’t much fanfare to write about. That’s pretty much as exciting as it got.

The nurse in the recovery suite called us at about 10:15 AM to let us know that he was just waking up. They gave him 3oz of sugar water, because it’s pretty easy to digest. Jeffrey was admitted to the pediatric floor for observation. Aside from being on the shortest leash he’s had in 3 months, there didn’t seem to be any change in this temperament.

We spent the rest of the day at the hospital. It was strange to be back on the 4^th floor after spending so much time around the corner in the PICU annex of the NICU. While we were in the pediatric department, our nurses Trish and Amanda kept us very comfortable, and even made accommodations for both Dani and I to stay the night, which was very nice of them. Dr. Kita came to visit us, but really had no news to tell us.

It was hard to adjust to Jeffrey being on heart and breathing monitors again. During the day when he was excited, his heart rate was 150-170, but during deep sleep it dropped to a disconcerting 99 BPM! Although his alarms went off regularly through the night, none of it was any cause for concern since it was just normal fluctuations and movement and all were self-correcting. We’re sure glad he didn’t have to come home on any monitors!

Jeffrey was discharged from Golisano Children’s Hospital the next morning and Dr. Weddig came to see us off, but the results of the MRI were not available yet. We’d have to wait 5 more days. On Monday afternoon, Dr. Smith-Burke called me at home to say that Jeffrey’s brain looks perfectly normal, and that the cysts found on his previous ultrasounds were absent on this MRI. The only finding was a thin Corpus Callosum, which connects the two hemispheres of the brain, but she assured me that it will have no affect on him whatsoever. Hooray! We’ll see her Tuesday for his next checkup!