MRI Results

Dakota was cleared for sedation today. The nurse felt that the benefits outweighed the risks, so the MRI was completed. She did really well. She cried a little more this time before and during the IV insertion. This time she knew what was happening and knew it would hurt. But, all in all, she was a trooper. They gave her a "drink of water" through her IV and then had her go potty. She was then given the meds for sedation and was almost "out" instantly. She was wheeled over to MRI and we watched as they carried her over to the scan bed. They strapped her on very good to hold her down from any spontaneous "wiggles", hooked her up to oxygen, and then put the head gear stuff on her. Then...we waited. We browsed through some magazines, sharing with each other points of interest from our respective readings. I read an article entitled "Yellibacy"...(about a mom who, after realizing just how much yelling she did at her kids everyday, decided to take the calmer road. With the help and advice of various specialists, she made changes, some more drastic than others, and vowed "Yellibacy"...no more yelling at kids, even from the top of the stairs to answer questions from her kids down below. I think I need to go into "Yellibacy" for a while. I probably could learn a lot about myself. I then read an article called "Hard Candy" about drug use among teens. It was very enlightening, yet scary. I hope I don't have to deal with that, but I learned that most of this drug abuse is with over the counter meds and alcoholic fruit drinks easily purchased at any store. Not only do we have to talk to them about the "stuff" they passed around when we grew up, but also warn them about "Skittles", "Cotton", "Vitamin-D", "Triple C", "Orange Crush", "Vikes", "Skippy" and "Alcopop". Scary stuff.
As I was browsing through recipes, a new patient came in that would be next on the MRI machine. She was just diagnosed with breast cancer. She was very cheerful, positive, and sure that this was no big deal, after all, she didn't have time for cancer. About that time, the nurse brought Dakota out to say hello to us. She was very groggy, but awake. Her stats were constant throughout the procedure and she did really well. She was wheeled back to another room and was given apple juice while we received discharge info and signed papers. She was clear to go home. We thought we would be there longer, but she was an easy one and she came out of sedation well, so we no longer had to wait. However, the nurse ran back to get a preliminary report on the scans. When she came back in, she confirmed that in is NF. Dakota has officially been diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis. We will now go to Primary Children's Hospital to meet with Peds teams there (including Neurologists and possibly Geneticists). We are extremely relieved that it is not cancer; however, we have a long way to go. She is not out of the woods. We still don't know which type of NF she has, nor will we know the severity of it. Neurofibromas can grow anywhere, whenever and we can only continue praying for her that she will be able to live a normal, healthy life despite her diagnosis. We are very grateful to all of you who have said prayers on her behalf. We will know more after the holidays. We will most likely start meeting with specialists after the Holidays. For now, we are going to try to enjoy Christmas and a quick vacation to Las Vegas. My Christmas cards are still not done, and probably won't get sent out until after we get back. So, know that we love you all and appreciate you. We will officially send you our belated holiday greetings soon. Thanks again!