June 24th:
It's that time again. MRI day. This is Logan's 8th MRI. This one is also slightly different. Up until today, the MRIs have been of the brain only and take about an hour under sedation. Today's MRI also includes the spine and takes 3 hours under sedation. The reason for this change is partially due to a tumor on Logan's back. Since he was born, Logan had a small "bump" on his upper back, directly on the spine. It has always been suspected to be just a skin tumor, like some others that he has, but they want to rule out any chance that there is a problem with the spine.
Also, given the likelihood of him growing tumors on his spine, the doctors think it will be a good idea to have a baseline, should anything develop in the future. Obviously I'm hoping its clear, not just so that there are no tumors on his spine, but also so that there is no reason to repeat the spine MRI any time soon.
Somehow, I survived the morning wait with Logan as active as ever. He decided during our first waiting room, that he liked another family better and convinced another father to read to him. The dad gladly took on the task. That's Logan, making friends wherever he goes.
After the pre-procedure work up, about an hour of taking vitals, answering questions and signing forms, it was time to go to the sedation room, or "room with the stars and the juice" as Logan calls it. We stuck with the same plan on singing a song on our way in and in the car on the way there decided between What Does the Fox Say and The Barney song. Logan sang both. He is the master of the mash-up (mostly because he can't hold attention to one song long enough to sing more than a verse). He did a great job and only fussed a little when the mask went on. On to the waiting.
Armed with an iPad, the wait was not too bad. Three hours flies by. Usually, when the scan is done, they page me and it takes about 30 minutes for him to wake up. Today, They came to get me and told me that he was already up and asking for me. Pretty unusual that he came out of sedation that quickly but he was ready for his popsicle and to go home. The afternoon was spent taking it easy.
Results/Infusion:
Knowing how nerve-wracking it can be to wait, our case manager emailed me the report from the MRI later that afternoon which I was also able to review with the doctors at his next infusions. Basically, things in the brain are stable (nothing grew, nothing shrank). There were a couple of minor things on the spine portion of the MRI that are not of any real concern. They noted the small plexiform neurofibroma (benign tumor that we already knew about) near the spine that does not appear to be impeding the spine. They noted some scoliosis (curvature of the spine) which we may keep our eye on or require a brace at some point. One thing that they found that will require some immediate follow-up on was a "large area of hyper-intense signal within the liver". They feel that this "area" is not a tumor but an "artifact" from the MRI. Basically, the MRI showing something that is not really there due to movement, malfunction, etc. Logan will go for an unltrasound this week to double check and make sure his liver is tumor free. Overall great news on the MRI.
Chemo this week was another solo trip for me as Ryan was once again sick. In the early stage of what we later confirmed to be a raging case of Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, Ryan was off the hook. Nothing too exciting to report other than despite being pumped full of drowsy inducing medicine, Logan did NOT sleep, making for a long and difficult day for me. But I can't really complain, because even the most difficult day for me is nothing compared to what Logan has to go through.
Armed with an iPad, the wait was not too bad. Three hours flies by. Usually, when the scan is done, they page me and it takes about 30 minutes for him to wake up. Today, They came to get me and told me that he was already up and asking for me. Pretty unusual that he came out of sedation that quickly but he was ready for his popsicle and to go home. The afternoon was spent taking it easy.
Results/Infusion:
Knowing how nerve-wracking it can be to wait, our case manager emailed me the report from the MRI later that afternoon which I was also able to review with the doctors at his next infusions. Basically, things in the brain are stable (nothing grew, nothing shrank). There were a couple of minor things on the spine portion of the MRI that are not of any real concern. They noted the small plexiform neurofibroma (benign tumor that we already knew about) near the spine that does not appear to be impeding the spine. They noted some scoliosis (curvature of the spine) which we may keep our eye on or require a brace at some point. One thing that they found that will require some immediate follow-up on was a "large area of hyper-intense signal within the liver". They feel that this "area" is not a tumor but an "artifact" from the MRI. Basically, the MRI showing something that is not really there due to movement, malfunction, etc. Logan will go for an unltrasound this week to double check and make sure his liver is tumor free. Overall great news on the MRI.
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| Ryan's HFM |
Chemo this week was another solo trip for me as Ryan was once again sick. In the early stage of what we later confirmed to be a raging case of Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, Ryan was off the hook. Nothing too exciting to report other than despite being pumped full of drowsy inducing medicine, Logan did NOT sleep, making for a long and difficult day for me. But I can't really complain, because even the most difficult day for me is nothing compared to what Logan has to go through.
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