This week has certainly had it's ups and downs!
The negatives: Aiden hates getting the cast on in the morning, and has now managed to slip it off 3 times. An above the elbow cast, which should be physically impossible to do! He begs me at random times to take it off, and it is heartbreaking watching him cry when he can't pick something up with is right hand. That poor hand has worked more in the last week than his entire life combined! On Saturday, he was playing outside during a barbeque - and dipped the cast in a mud puddle. It took from Saturday afternoon until Sunday night to dry! It did some damage, but hopefully I dried it in time and it will not actually fall apart! Of course, that means that today is 20x harder to get him to keep the cast on after such a long break! When it comes off at night, he swings his left arm around and shouts "it's free! my arm can breath!". Eating has been a bit of a challenging mess! I have tried to stick to finger foods as much as possible since he still can't grip a fork or spoon and ends up using his whole hand anyways! By the way - for anyone planning on doing this therapy in the future - stay away from pancakes and syrup in the beginning! My mom took us out to eat, and Aiden ordered breakfast for dinner. He gave up trying to get the super fluffy pancakes and just grabbed a fistful - the dipped the whole fist into the syrup. It was a mess that I wish I had brought my camera for! And the biggest, messiest part of the whole thing... using the toilet! Boys have to aim, and it requires a dexterity that you don't think about until they have to use a hand with no muscle control. Thank goodness we have lots of soap for handwashing and plenty of clorox wipes!!!
The positives: He is using his hand so much! I cannot believe how good he is doing! Although I think we still have a long ways to go with finger control - he still cannot move any of his fingers independantly, but I am confident that he will get there. Once his cast is actually on, he asks for a break from it less and less - in fact one night before bed he actually asked if he could sleep with it because it felt funny to have it off!
Tomorrow is his first session of therapy with the cast, so I hope that Jennifer sees as much progress as I have!
Monday, May 3, 2010
The Casting
Well, last Tuesday was interesting to say the least! After learning about the upcoming cast, I was actually able to get Aiden excited about it. We bought cast tattoos, and he bragged to all of his friends that he was going to wear a dinosaur cast. To a bunch of 3 year old boys, that is about the coolest thing in the world! The more we talked about it, the more comfortable Aiden got with the idea. He even got to pick out a new dragon movie to watch during the procedure. My Aunt Laura came down to help me out because Brandon had class - I knew there was no way I could help with Aiden and keep Connor from freaking out at the same time!
On the "big day", Laura came with me to pick up Aiden from school. He was so excited to show her his school! In fact, he was all smiles the whole way to the hospital! He couldn't wait to introduce Jennifer to his Aunt! When 1pm came, we watched Jennifer come out to the waiting room to get him and explain what was going to happen. She asked if I could go to the cafeteria to pick out ice cream for him, and then join them in the casting room. Aiden was so excited to get started that I made the mistake of taking my time heading upstairs. I got Connor settled in with Laura - he had a big bowl of mac n cheese and a grilled cheese. By the time I got the ice cream (it was a surprising long line) and headed to the casting room, it was about 1:20. I knew as soon as I saw 2 of the assistants waiting in the hallway for me that it wasn't going well! I walked in the room and he was screaming and crying at the top of his lungs! He was furious that they were holding his arm still and casting it! The ice cream (and mommy) completely turned things around :) I spoon fed him Superman ice cream while he watched his movie, and he relaxed - as much as he could - for the next hour and a half.
I thought it that the cast would be a regular one - kept on 24/7 as I had read about on all the Constraint Induced Movement Therapy sites. Instead, as soon as the cast was on, they cut it down the side and removed it. The exposed edges were covered in a thick tape, and velcro was glued on. The cast went back on, the super strong velcro was applied, and then a self adhesive bandage was wrapped around it to keep the velcro hidden. I was instructed to remove it after the first 3 hours to check for red marks or bruising, and then put it back on. He was also to sleep without it on, both at bedtime and on the off chance he wanted to take a nap. I have never seen him so eager for bedtime! The first morning was hard - it took almost 20 minutes of Brandon and I begging, pleading and finally holding him down to get the cast back on, and we were of course late for school!
On the "big day", Laura came with me to pick up Aiden from school. He was so excited to show her his school! In fact, he was all smiles the whole way to the hospital! He couldn't wait to introduce Jennifer to his Aunt! When 1pm came, we watched Jennifer come out to the waiting room to get him and explain what was going to happen. She asked if I could go to the cafeteria to pick out ice cream for him, and then join them in the casting room. Aiden was so excited to get started that I made the mistake of taking my time heading upstairs. I got Connor settled in with Laura - he had a big bowl of mac n cheese and a grilled cheese. By the time I got the ice cream (it was a surprising long line) and headed to the casting room, it was about 1:20. I knew as soon as I saw 2 of the assistants waiting in the hallway for me that it wasn't going well! I walked in the room and he was screaming and crying at the top of his lungs! He was furious that they were holding his arm still and casting it! The ice cream (and mommy) completely turned things around :) I spoon fed him Superman ice cream while he watched his movie, and he relaxed - as much as he could - for the next hour and a half.
I thought it that the cast would be a regular one - kept on 24/7 as I had read about on all the Constraint Induced Movement Therapy sites. Instead, as soon as the cast was on, they cut it down the side and removed it. The exposed edges were covered in a thick tape, and velcro was glued on. The cast went back on, the super strong velcro was applied, and then a self adhesive bandage was wrapped around it to keep the velcro hidden. I was instructed to remove it after the first 3 hours to check for red marks or bruising, and then put it back on. He was also to sleep without it on, both at bedtime and on the off chance he wanted to take a nap. I have never seen him so eager for bedtime! The first morning was hard - it took almost 20 minutes of Brandon and I begging, pleading and finally holding him down to get the cast back on, and we were of course late for school!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Constraint Induced Movement Therapy
Aiden begins a new, very intensive journey with his Occupational Therapist on Tuesday. He is going to be casted, from above the elbow to past the fingertips of his "good" arm. This should force his brain to use his right arm, and hopefully start building the muscles up in his hand and fingers enough to gain strength. He's mad. He's furious. If he even hears the word "cast" right now, he runs into a corner, covers his ears and cries. It is the worst feeling in the world to know that you are going to take part in making your child unbelievably miserable! I have the power to tell his OT that he's not ready, that I want to wait, that there has to be a better way. I won't do it. I refuse to let my emotions at this moment overrule my brain. I KNOW that this is the best thing we can do for him. The progress that stroke survivors make with this therapy was unheard of until recently. The success stories I have been reading bring tears to my eyes! One little boy, at 4.5, had never been able to use his right arm in any way. 6 months after his casting, he was playing baseball and fishing, using his right arm!!! There are many more, but that is the one that really sticks. Mainly because Aiden wants to play baseball and go fishing so badly!
I am talking to Aiden all day, every day about his upcoming cast. I think the more I talk about it, the easier it will go. It seems to be working! He only has 2 or 3 meltdowns a day, versus more than I can count the first couple of days. He's actually talking about it on his own, to other people. We sat together and picked out "casttoos", which are actual tattoos designed for casts. He of course chose dinosaurs, so now he refers to it as his dinosaur cast. He also picked out a movie called Flight of the Dragons to watch during the casting. He is beyond obsessed with How to Train Your Dragon, which of course would be his first choice, but since it is still in theaters, he had to pick something else! During the actual casting, he will be able to watch a movie, plus his OT let him pick out a special treat. He chose ice cream! How could getting a cast be too bad if he gets to eat chocolate ice cream while watching a dragon movie!
I will try to actually update this regularly with his progress. Maybe this will finally be my reason to keep this blog alive!
I am talking to Aiden all day, every day about his upcoming cast. I think the more I talk about it, the easier it will go. It seems to be working! He only has 2 or 3 meltdowns a day, versus more than I can count the first couple of days. He's actually talking about it on his own, to other people. We sat together and picked out "casttoos", which are actual tattoos designed for casts. He of course chose dinosaurs, so now he refers to it as his dinosaur cast. He also picked out a movie called Flight of the Dragons to watch during the casting. He is beyond obsessed with How to Train Your Dragon, which of course would be his first choice, but since it is still in theaters, he had to pick something else! During the actual casting, he will be able to watch a movie, plus his OT let him pick out a special treat. He chose ice cream! How could getting a cast be too bad if he gets to eat chocolate ice cream while watching a dragon movie!
I will try to actually update this regularly with his progress. Maybe this will finally be my reason to keep this blog alive!
Monday, November 30, 2009
It's the last day of November!
And of course I haven't updated again in forever! One of my favorite cloth diaper companies is doing a diaper giveaway, so it encouraged me to get on here!
After 9 months of cloth diapering, I have actually found my favorites finally... so far! I really never expected to prefer fitted diapers, but surprisingly enough I do! I am completely in love with Thirsties Duo covers - they are semi one size. Basically, size 1 works from about birth through 18lbs and size 2 is 18lbs and up. I was torn when I bought it, since Connor was right on the brink of both sizes at the time, but I ended up going with the size 2. I picked up 4, and both boys can wear the same cover, which is great! For daytime, around the house diapers, I have found myself reaching for my prefolds for Connor, and using Goodmama fitted diapers for naps. For reasonably short trips, I prefer the BagshotRowBamboo dipes - they are pretty absorbant, as well as super trim. I have only been using my pocket diapers when I am getting behind on my laundry. In reality, I need to sell them (and maybe use the money for new fitteds!), but I am such a packrat! Also, I found the best detergent ever for cloth! It's called Rockin Green Soap, and it seriously wipes out any trace of smell whatsoever. I have really hard water, and thought I would just have to deal with the lingering detergent smells I was getting from everything else. This new stuff has water softener in it, so it really does wash away completely. Check out the Goodmama site by clicking on this link:
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Connor update: He's finally packing on a little weight! He is so active that he seems to burn off calories before they can even think of sticking, so he stayed at 17lbs 2oz from 7 months until 12 months! Of course, we have to bring him in every 4 weeks for weight checks now, and he just had blood drawn to test for food allergies, but he did gain 9oz in the last month. Finally! I really really can't wait until he hits 20lbs though so I can turn him around in his car seat! He hates facing the back of the car with a passion - I've tried mirrors, tons of toys, dvd player, etc, but he still screams bloody murder the moment I am out of sight. Plus, my car is not ideal for a rear facing seat, especially when I am trying to wedge a squirmy little guy with a big coat through that space between the seat and the top of the door. It is definately an experience! Connor's hair is starting to get really long and curly, but only around the back and above his ears. He looks pretty funny when his hair dries sticking out :) He is now 13 months (as of Saturday), and walking, running, climbing, throwing the dreaded tantrums, saying a handful of words (mama, dada, broba(brother), kitty kat, thank you, gramma, sarah and papa) and altogether keeping me on my toes 24/7. A big change here - he is finally sleeping through the night!!! It took a couple nights of modified cry it out, but I was at the end of my rope. It was taking me at least an hour every night of rocking for him to fall asleep, and then he woke up every 1-2 hours all night long and had to be rocked back to sleep. Basically, on the first night, he yelled. He didn't really cry, but he was pissed that I dared to leave him alone in his crib. This went on for about 25 minutes - I went in and laid him back down after 7 minutes, then just watched him on the video monitor since that made him even madder! He slept all the way through until 3am, when I went into his room and slept on the floor with him. Night 2 he took about 45 minutes to fall asleep (I laid him back down twice) and he slept until 4:30am before I went in to get him. Night 3, he yelled at me until the door shut... then laid down and slept for 13 hours straight! Holy Cow!!! He asks for bed now, bringing me his blankie and pacifier around 7pm, we go to his room, nurse (yes, he is still nursing at 13 months!) and he goes right to sleep on his own :) It took about 2 weeks of still rocking him at naptime before he eventually started reaching for the stairs when he got tired. I got the hint, and now he goes down for 2 naps a day on his own when he asks for them :) I don't think he was ready for it before 10 months (which is when we did it), but he is such a happier baby with a full nights sleep!
Aiden update: My little boys is growing up! He started preschool in September, and he loves it! We are still struggling with potty training though. He will stay dry for most of a day, and then start hiding and wetting his pull ups again. We're getting there though, slowly but surely. Aiden has finally given up his pacifier, aka Boppy. It now resides inside of a stuffed elephant named elephanty (he's a creative one) that we made at a build a bear type place. It's been 3 weeks, and he hasn't asked for it once :) He's doing great in therapy - he has PT at school on Tuesday mornings, OT at a rehabilitation center on Tuesday afternoons, and then again on Thursday mornings at school. We may be looking into doing a different type of therapy coming up where his left arm (the "working one") would be put in a cast and he would be forced to use his right hand for everything. I am holding off a bit, mainly because I know how insanely mad it will make him! It's kind of a now or never thing though, he's young enough that all of this therapy will really pay off as he gets older.
He has a crush at school! Every day he tells me all about his girlfriend, and how he can't wait to be all grown up so he can marry her. Luckily we have a really long time before we have to worry about that!
After 9 months of cloth diapering, I have actually found my favorites finally... so far! I really never expected to prefer fitted diapers, but surprisingly enough I do! I am completely in love with Thirsties Duo covers - they are semi one size. Basically, size 1 works from about birth through 18lbs and size 2 is 18lbs and up. I was torn when I bought it, since Connor was right on the brink of both sizes at the time, but I ended up going with the size 2. I picked up 4, and both boys can wear the same cover, which is great! For daytime, around the house diapers, I have found myself reaching for my prefolds for Connor, and using Goodmama fitted diapers for naps. For reasonably short trips, I prefer the BagshotRowBamboo dipes - they are pretty absorbant, as well as super trim. I have only been using my pocket diapers when I am getting behind on my laundry. In reality, I need to sell them (and maybe use the money for new fitteds!), but I am such a packrat! Also, I found the best detergent ever for cloth! It's called Rockin Green Soap, and it seriously wipes out any trace of smell whatsoever. I have really hard water, and thought I would just have to deal with the lingering detergent smells I was getting from everything else. This new stuff has water softener in it, so it really does wash away completely. Check out the Goodmama site by clicking on this link:
border=0>Connor update: He's finally packing on a little weight! He is so active that he seems to burn off calories before they can even think of sticking, so he stayed at 17lbs 2oz from 7 months until 12 months! Of course, we have to bring him in every 4 weeks for weight checks now, and he just had blood drawn to test for food allergies, but he did gain 9oz in the last month. Finally! I really really can't wait until he hits 20lbs though so I can turn him around in his car seat! He hates facing the back of the car with a passion - I've tried mirrors, tons of toys, dvd player, etc, but he still screams bloody murder the moment I am out of sight. Plus, my car is not ideal for a rear facing seat, especially when I am trying to wedge a squirmy little guy with a big coat through that space between the seat and the top of the door. It is definately an experience! Connor's hair is starting to get really long and curly, but only around the back and above his ears. He looks pretty funny when his hair dries sticking out :) He is now 13 months (as of Saturday), and walking, running, climbing, throwing the dreaded tantrums, saying a handful of words (mama, dada, broba(brother), kitty kat, thank you, gramma, sarah and papa) and altogether keeping me on my toes 24/7. A big change here - he is finally sleeping through the night!!! It took a couple nights of modified cry it out, but I was at the end of my rope. It was taking me at least an hour every night of rocking for him to fall asleep, and then he woke up every 1-2 hours all night long and had to be rocked back to sleep. Basically, on the first night, he yelled. He didn't really cry, but he was pissed that I dared to leave him alone in his crib. This went on for about 25 minutes - I went in and laid him back down after 7 minutes, then just watched him on the video monitor since that made him even madder! He slept all the way through until 3am, when I went into his room and slept on the floor with him. Night 2 he took about 45 minutes to fall asleep (I laid him back down twice) and he slept until 4:30am before I went in to get him. Night 3, he yelled at me until the door shut... then laid down and slept for 13 hours straight! Holy Cow!!! He asks for bed now, bringing me his blankie and pacifier around 7pm, we go to his room, nurse (yes, he is still nursing at 13 months!) and he goes right to sleep on his own :) It took about 2 weeks of still rocking him at naptime before he eventually started reaching for the stairs when he got tired. I got the hint, and now he goes down for 2 naps a day on his own when he asks for them :) I don't think he was ready for it before 10 months (which is when we did it), but he is such a happier baby with a full nights sleep!
Aiden update: My little boys is growing up! He started preschool in September, and he loves it! We are still struggling with potty training though. He will stay dry for most of a day, and then start hiding and wetting his pull ups again. We're getting there though, slowly but surely. Aiden has finally given up his pacifier, aka Boppy. It now resides inside of a stuffed elephant named elephanty (he's a creative one) that we made at a build a bear type place. It's been 3 weeks, and he hasn't asked for it once :) He's doing great in therapy - he has PT at school on Tuesday mornings, OT at a rehabilitation center on Tuesday afternoons, and then again on Thursday mornings at school. We may be looking into doing a different type of therapy coming up where his left arm (the "working one") would be put in a cast and he would be forced to use his right hand for everything. I am holding off a bit, mainly because I know how insanely mad it will make him! It's kind of a now or never thing though, he's young enough that all of this therapy will really pay off as he gets older.
He has a crush at school! Every day he tells me all about his girlfriend, and how he can't wait to be all grown up so he can marry her. Luckily we have a really long time before we have to worry about that!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
2 months later...
Oops! It is so rare that I get any time to myself to actually write my thoughts down, so this blog is definately suffering! In fact, I should really be doing homework right now, but shoot, I am 28 years old and still procrastinate just as bad (if not worse) than I did in high school! If I manage to actually pass this term though (and right now, that's a HUGE if!), I will finally have my associates degree in December! It may be the slowest degree ever, but a class here and there over the last 10 years is finally coming together :)
We have had a neuro appointment for Aiden since my last post :) The doc does not think it is that schizencephaly deal. Instead, he is pretty much positive that Aiden did in fact have a stroke. He did say that Aiden is his "unique" patient though! He showed us a model of a brain, labeled with what each portion controls. Aiden's damage, going strictly by the MRI and not knowing him at all, should result in complete paralysis on his right side, no vision in his right eye, impaired mental function, impaired speech and no bowel or bladder control. That is so not my son! In fact, the neuro said he thinks he's about at a 5 year old level in regards to his mental function! So, yes, Aiden does have cerebral palsy. No, he will most likely not be the best jumper in school, nor the best at pushups or pullups. But you know what? None of that matters. I have had so many moments where it really hits me how lucky we got. When we go to his therapy appointments, and I see the kids in the wheelchairs that have to be completely strapped in just to sit up, I have to hug Aiden a little tighter. There is no rhyme or reason as to how Aiden escaped that fate, but he has. He does get some funny looks from the other parents, trying to figure out what he's doing there, in a waiting room where he is the only child without braces, crutches or a wheelchair. One mother actually asked me, because apparently Tuesdays are generally reserved for CP patients. When I told her he had CP, she looked at me like I was crazy! He is going to need braces though. Getting him to where them will be a trick, but as his feet grow, it is more apparent that his ankles need some help. He is now walking on the insides of his feet. Brandon is not going to like this. He doesn't want anyone to know that Aiden is not the same as every other child out there, and braces will ruin that. It does bother me that he is so secretive about it. It makes me feel like he is ashamed of our son, even though that is not it at all! He was just raised to never talk about anything medical with anyone outside of his immediate family. If he found out I had this blog, he'd probably stop talking to me for a long time :( I will break him of it though!
Tuesday began the possibly long journey to figure out what caused Aiden's stroke. He had his first appointment with a hematologist, who then sent him for a blood draw. 13 VIALS LATER... yup, I said 13. They only took 6 from me when I was pregnant, and I felt a little woozy. He ate more than a grown man every meal for the next 48 hours. I think it was his body trying to make new blood cells! Now we have to go back every 4 weeks, and if nothing came out of the labs, he gets more blood taken. I have to think of a really special treat for his next appointment! And this time, I will be bringing a cup of orange juice to make him drink right after so he's not so out of it!
Connor is on the verge of walking already! He's 9 months, and a little pistol! He cruises along furniture like a speeding bullet, and now he likes to stand on his own so he has an excuse to clap for himself :) We just have to work on him moving his foot forward while he's doing it, since right now he just stretches out his arms and dives towards me! I'm glad I finally got all the parts to my gate so I could install it. This sucker goes from one side of my living room to the other, and has two swinging doors. That way, Connor (and Aiden most of the time) can be restricted to the living room. He can climb our stairs before you blink your eye if he gets past the gate, so I have to be hyper vigilant about that. I always say that he's going to be my first child in a cast because he has no fear, and is constantly doing crazy and dangerous stuff. He really likes to hang from the window ledge and try to climb up the wall. He has also decided it's tons of fun to crawl on their mini couch, get on his knees on the back of it, and throw his arms in the air while the thing flips over on top of him. He laughs the whole time! It's not heavy or hard, so it doesn't hurt him, it's the falling face first (and sometimes back first depending on his mood) that freaks me out! I did have to take him to the ER on Thursday when he stuck his hand in the door (the side that has hinges) and his brother slammed it all the way shut. Although he screamed bloody murder the whole way there, and his right ring finger was about the size of 2 of his other fingers combined, nothing was broken! Their little bones are still super tiny and soft, and baby fingers are mostly cartilidge. I had to keep pumping ibupfrofin in him for 48 hours, because the doc said splinting him as active as he is would result in much more severe inuries! He was crawling around the room, and everytime he put weight on his right hand he screamed, but would not stop! He did get weighed at that visit, and is now a whopping 17 pounds! His 9 month (even though he'll be 10 months) checkup is September 9th, so hopefully he'll gain more before then so the doc doesn't get upset again that my super active, big meal eating child can't seem to gain more than a pound a month!
I guess I should end this for now. I have much more to say, but I need to give myself and excuse to get back on here soon!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
MRI results
Today Aiden had to get a school physical because he starts preschool in the fall! He is going to be in a special needs class that will allow him to recieve OT and PT every week :) Anyways, right as the visit with the doctor started, he received a fax... it was the MRI results! It was very unexpected to get them so soon, and now I wish I hadn't! Basically, the scan found an abnormal band of scar tissue and cysts along the left lobe of his brain. The paper said that it looks like there is evidence of an old infarct (which I did expect) and something called schizencephaly. That's the part I didn't expect, and I am stressing about. It looks pretty rare, the pediatrician didn't really know what it was, so googled it. Yeah, I know that is never a good idea, but there really isn't much info out there on it, other than it appears to be a genetic deformity of the brain. It does look like we got extremely lucky with Aiden. In about 17% of kids with it, there is not a lot of obvious effects. In most cases though, the children have full paralysis and mental retardation. Since Aiden scored at the 4-5 year old level in the verbal and cognetive areas of his development exam last month, we know that there is no mental impairment at all. What scares me is his risk for seizures. Apparently, a large number of kids with the disease develop epilepsy by 4-5 years old. I really won't know much else about it until his neuro appointment, so it looks like I have 3.5 weeks to sit around worrying and watching for any sign of a seizure in Aiden! I do have to wonder about the time I brought him to his doctor when he was sick and he had a seizure in the waiting room and was told it was a febrile seizure, even though his temp wasn't that high (I think he had been around 102 the wholeday). He then had 2 more that night, and I didn't take him to get checked because I was warned it would likely happen. I guess just more stuff to ask the doctor!
Friday
I am going to post what I meant to last week, then I will add another with the results, otherwise this will be way too long!
Friday morning was Aiden's scheduled MRI to get a clear picture of his brain. The neurologist said we may see some sort of evidence of a stroke that he thinks occurred in utero to cause his cerebral palsy. The main reason to even get the MRI done is to look for possible clotting issues, because that would mean he may be prone to more strokes as he gets older. I got a phone call from one of the nurses Thursday morning with intructions for Aiden, such as no food past 8pm, and nothing but clear liquids after that. Then she told me only 2 adults are allowed at his bedside, and no other children! That would have been nice to know about before both my mom and husband already arranged to be there. Oh yeah, and did I mention that Connor absolutely refuses to take a bottle, so I couldn't just leave him at home with someone?
We got there at 7:30am, and Brandon and I went back to the pediatric outpatient area to get checked in. He was weighed and measured, then shown to a cubicle area with a recliner and a TV. We waited there for about 30 minutes, then just after Brandon and my mom switched places, they decided it was IV time. I really hate, more than anything else in the entire world, seeing my child in pain. Luckily, they got the IV on the first try. Also lucky was the fact that they did it to his left hand. He tried for the next 2 hours to remove that thing, but without much strength and no fine motor skills in his right hand, he was out of luck! I have no idea why they chose to put it in that far ahead of schedule, but I am glad that it went so smooth. He's had IVs two other times, and it always took multiple tries.
There was some sort of emergency, so our appointment got bumped back, but finally at 10am we wheeled Aiden to the MRI suite on his "race car bed". It has all the monitors hooked up, so he was convinced it was his special computer that made him super fast. The imagination of a 2 year old! I have to add, the longer we were there, the more nurses he caused to gravitate towards him. By the time we were walking to the MRI room, he had a mini entourage as an escort :) He ended up with 2 extra nurses during sedation, simply because he flirted with them!
As bad as it sounds, watching the sedative take effect was pretty funny. I was told to expect some crying and screaming, because toddlers tend to violently fight sedation, but not Aiden! He was sooo giggly, and was joking and trying to play tricks on the nurses. He really loved trying to convince the doctor that there was a bird on his shoulder! It ended up taking double the usual dose to knock him out, but he fell asleep happy and woke up the same way :) It didn't hurt that he woke up to a popsicle in his face. His recovery took about 30 minutes, then I got to take him home. That part was not so much fun. I basically had 2 babies for awhile, because he couldn't walk (he tried once, and collapsed face first on the floor!), he had to be supervised while eating, and could only have soft foods. Baths were not allowed, just in case he passed out and I wasn't holding him at that moment, so it was really fun cleaning all the pudding and jello off of him! Brandon came home just before bed time (he works in Rockford this summer, so it's a long commute), and ended up sleeping with him because I was told to monitor his breathing all night. Saturday he woke up full of energy, ate a TON, and was back to his old self :) We were told that the results would be sent to his neurologist in 3-5 business days, and figured we'd find out about them at his appointment on the 29th.
We spent the weekend as a family. Because Brandon is working in Rockford, he is spending most of the week at my parent's house in Grand Rapids, which is only 15 minutes from his job. On Saturday, we went to the Impression 5 Science Museum, which turned out to be free! They accept the Grand Rapids Children's Museum memberships there, so I think we'll be there more often! Sunday was a lazy day for me, and Brandon worked on some of the projects around the house that are falling behind in his absence. He left again early Monday morning, so we are now on week 3 of just me and the kids. It gets crazy, but I think we are settling in to a nice routine.
Oh, and by the way, Connor is out of control! The kid is quite the crawler, and he's figured out how to climb, walk along the couch, and is now working on climbing stairs! I am so not ready for this!!!
Friday morning was Aiden's scheduled MRI to get a clear picture of his brain. The neurologist said we may see some sort of evidence of a stroke that he thinks occurred in utero to cause his cerebral palsy. The main reason to even get the MRI done is to look for possible clotting issues, because that would mean he may be prone to more strokes as he gets older. I got a phone call from one of the nurses Thursday morning with intructions for Aiden, such as no food past 8pm, and nothing but clear liquids after that. Then she told me only 2 adults are allowed at his bedside, and no other children! That would have been nice to know about before both my mom and husband already arranged to be there. Oh yeah, and did I mention that Connor absolutely refuses to take a bottle, so I couldn't just leave him at home with someone?
We got there at 7:30am, and Brandon and I went back to the pediatric outpatient area to get checked in. He was weighed and measured, then shown to a cubicle area with a recliner and a TV. We waited there for about 30 minutes, then just after Brandon and my mom switched places, they decided it was IV time. I really hate, more than anything else in the entire world, seeing my child in pain. Luckily, they got the IV on the first try. Also lucky was the fact that they did it to his left hand. He tried for the next 2 hours to remove that thing, but without much strength and no fine motor skills in his right hand, he was out of luck! I have no idea why they chose to put it in that far ahead of schedule, but I am glad that it went so smooth. He's had IVs two other times, and it always took multiple tries.
There was some sort of emergency, so our appointment got bumped back, but finally at 10am we wheeled Aiden to the MRI suite on his "race car bed". It has all the monitors hooked up, so he was convinced it was his special computer that made him super fast. The imagination of a 2 year old! I have to add, the longer we were there, the more nurses he caused to gravitate towards him. By the time we were walking to the MRI room, he had a mini entourage as an escort :) He ended up with 2 extra nurses during sedation, simply because he flirted with them!
As bad as it sounds, watching the sedative take effect was pretty funny. I was told to expect some crying and screaming, because toddlers tend to violently fight sedation, but not Aiden! He was sooo giggly, and was joking and trying to play tricks on the nurses. He really loved trying to convince the doctor that there was a bird on his shoulder! It ended up taking double the usual dose to knock him out, but he fell asleep happy and woke up the same way :) It didn't hurt that he woke up to a popsicle in his face. His recovery took about 30 minutes, then I got to take him home. That part was not so much fun. I basically had 2 babies for awhile, because he couldn't walk (he tried once, and collapsed face first on the floor!), he had to be supervised while eating, and could only have soft foods. Baths were not allowed, just in case he passed out and I wasn't holding him at that moment, so it was really fun cleaning all the pudding and jello off of him! Brandon came home just before bed time (he works in Rockford this summer, so it's a long commute), and ended up sleeping with him because I was told to monitor his breathing all night. Saturday he woke up full of energy, ate a TON, and was back to his old self :) We were told that the results would be sent to his neurologist in 3-5 business days, and figured we'd find out about them at his appointment on the 29th.
We spent the weekend as a family. Because Brandon is working in Rockford, he is spending most of the week at my parent's house in Grand Rapids, which is only 15 minutes from his job. On Saturday, we went to the Impression 5 Science Museum, which turned out to be free! They accept the Grand Rapids Children's Museum memberships there, so I think we'll be there more often! Sunday was a lazy day for me, and Brandon worked on some of the projects around the house that are falling behind in his absence. He left again early Monday morning, so we are now on week 3 of just me and the kids. It gets crazy, but I think we are settling in to a nice routine.
Oh, and by the way, Connor is out of control! The kid is quite the crawler, and he's figured out how to climb, walk along the couch, and is now working on climbing stairs! I am so not ready for this!!!
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