MRI 7

Today was MRI #7 which means we were out bright and early to get to the hospital. (Leaving the house at 5:30 AM in case you were wondering what classifies as  "bright and early"). There were two things I really wasn't looking forward to about the day.

Scared Silly

Dilated Eyes

First of all, because Logan has to be sedated to get MRIs, he is not allowed any food or drink after a certain point. This means, no taking his pills in the morning. (Plus, I don't know if there is any contra-indication with the Ritalin and sedation drugs.)  Seems silly to worry about managing him without medication since we did for years, but it was definitely a concern, especially having to get up so early and not being able to eat/drink.  Part of me was curious to see how he would do without it.  To see if there was really a difference and if the medication was really necessary. This is a question I always come back to, because the last thing I wanted to do was to medicate him. After spending the morning with him unmedicated, I can say that the Ritalin DOES make a difference and I can confirm the merits of putting him on it (until I start questioning it again in about a month).

The second fear of my day was the moment prior to sedation. I knew I would survive the 60 minute wait till the MRI. It was the 60 seconds right before sedation that was going to be difficult. Knowing that Logan's fears start as soon as he sees the sedation room, I tried to be proactive in preventing this. We started talking about it the night before and came up with some ideas to get through it. Instead of crying, Logan's plan was that he was going to go into the room and sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for all the doctors. This worked amazingly well. Walking down the hall, one hand holding mine, the other the nurse's, Logan sang Twinkle the whole way into the room and up onto the bed. 

It was at this moment that Logan realized what was going to happen. Trying to get up off the bed, "I want to go for a walk mommy! I REALLY want to go for a walk!!"  What else can you do at that point than to just rip off the metaphorical bandaid?  With the mask on, he was off to sleep in a matter of seconds. Any longer and I would have been crying right along with him.

Overall, his MRI day was a good one. With lots of extra energy, Logan was lucky to have another little girl, same age, there to play with while we waited. The two seemed to to be instant best friends.  Given the emotional state of her mother, I would guess that this was her first MRI.  I wanted to tell her it gets easier, but I suppose I would have to convince myself of that first.

Now, we wait to hear from the doctors or harass them until they give us some answers.