A VERY LONG DAY

All I can say is "Poor Sumana." What was supposed to be an hour lounging with soothing music, turned into a 3+ hour, ear pounding marathon for Sumana. The MRI was much more complicated than anyone would have thought. We had watched a couple videos online to prepare her for the MRI, but hardly anything was the same. There were no headphones, so only loud banging and beeping. AND, before we even left the waiting room, Sumana was flipping out about having a needle to inject the contrast dye (we had no warning about that one!). Thankfully, the tech asked around and was told it would probably be okay to omit the dye. (Whew!)

The tech had no idea what she was up against with Miss Sumana's spine. In her words, Sumana's spine is so 'out there' that she had to do tiny scans each time, instead of the larger scans that are standard for a typical spine. (Her thoracic and lumbar spine were scanned). Her spine curves and twists in so many directions, it took FOREVER to scan. Thankfully, (again!) the tech consulted with three (count 'em, 3!) radiologists. They were able to pinpoint areas that were crucial to scan and they also were able to cut out a bunch of scans that weren't as necessary. So, that's where the 3 hours came in. If they had scanned the entire area, we would have been there much, MUCH longer. Now we have to hope that Dr. Silberstein can see what he needs to see, otherwise he may want to re-do the scans with the contrast dye. (oh, no! The needle!)

Sumana got one short 'intermission'. She got to sit up (ooooo!) for a few minutes. I had originally thought that the MRI would be over by 12:30 at the latest, so we hadn't thought of eating lunch beforehand. When we finally finished around 2:30, the poor girl was STARVING! Throughout the whole ordeal, she had such a good attitude, (well, except the needle surprise!). I can't get over how well she did. Her back started spasms at one point (just before her 'intermission'). But she had been laying still for almost 2 hours!

And, I have to mention big sister, Gretchen. While Sumana was on the MRI table, Gretchen was in the waiting room with our respite baby. What a trooper! Both of my girls went above and beyond any of my initial expectations. I hope we don't have to repeat this adventure!

I'll call Dr. Silberstein's office on Monday to find out what he thinks of Sumana's pictures. I'll let you know when I know! Maybe we can even schedule the VEPTR surgery with Dr. Sanders! I like to be optimistic. The wait has seemed pretty long, already!