Eleventh MRI

Simba got an ID band, too!

Today was Finn's eleventh MRI (at least I think it was #11, and I'm much too tired to go back and count them all to be sure).  Unlike previous MRIs, he wasn't scheduled until 10am, which was nice because we didn't have to get up early, but was hard because he couldn't eat or drink anything during that time.  So last night before bed I let him have a full cup of caffeine free Diet Coke (he usually only gets to sip mine, so this was a huge treat), encouraged him to drink a lot of milk and let him eat a big snack before bed.  All that seemed to work, as he didn't complain about being hungry and he was apparently an easy stick for the IV this time, as he didn't come out with needle marks all over him like he usually does.

Since he wasn't going for the MRI until 10, they had him do his ultrasound first (usually they do it after the MRI, when he's still sedated).  The ultrasound tech was incredibly nice, and said that he'd scanned Finn before, but always when he was asleep. Finn did not want to have anything to do with the ultrasound, though, so it took a lot of coaxing from both of us to get him to cooperate.  What finally worked was the tech suggesting that I put the probe on Finn's tummy first, and after that he was completely fine.

After the ultrasound was over, I told Finn to say thank you and he said, "Thank you for doing my ultrasound." So cute!

Surprisingly, we had almost no wait after that for the MRI.  The anesthesiologist was one we'd never had before, and he said he preferred doing the sedation without Versed (after the last guy pretty much refused to go without Versed).  So I walked with them to the door, but they wouldn't let me into the MRI room, so I had to leave him crying and upset, though the anesthesiologist reassured me that they were ready with the anesthesia and that he'd only cry for a minute.  THAT was AWFUL.

But the post-MRI experience was incredibly easy, without Versed on board.  Finn wasn't crying, though it was clear he had been before I got there (I'm pretty sure the nurse waited too long to call me post-scan) and he was very clear headed.  He told me they'd just taken something off his mouth that he didn't like because it made his mouth hurt but that it didn't hurt anymore, and that he wasn't scared. Oh, and that I couldn't pick him up until they got "all this stuff off me." It was harder for the nurse to check all his vitals than usual, as he cried about everything, even though nothing hurt, and then he really cried when they took off the tape to remove his IV.  But then he was pretty ok after that, and didn't seem upset at all with me holding him.

Right after we got to recovery

He was a trooper at the oncologist's office, too.  No crying or fussing at all, and was just incredibly cute with everyone, and aside from being just a little off balance, he was his normal self (thanks to some snacks and a little water). Again, no waiting, which is a great benefit of the later scan, though clearly they were staying through lunch just to see us.

We got the results just a few hours after we left the doctor's office - all look stable!  So we get a nice long break from MRIs - the next one won't be until August!  And then after that, we go to annual scans until he's 7.  That's a long time to follow this, but so wonderful to know that we've almost graduated to once a year scans.

My dad went with us, and it was so nice to have someone there with me, as well as to have someone who could carry Finn, since there's no way I could have done that much carrying right now.

Such a huge feeling of relief, every time one of these is over and the report is good.  A very, very good start to 2014!