Mama and Me

MRI Report and Consult

We had our face-to-face meeting with the neurosurgeon today. Grandpa was visiting during the week so we took him along. It was nice to have a third set of ears to hear the news. Again the doctor said there were no significant changes in the MRI since the last one (a year ago). There remains residual fluid around the left lobe that did not drain completely after surgery. Shunting would help drain that but it is not without risks and is a lifelong proposition. The overall consensus was let’s not introduce a shunt since Kenneth is doing well overall and not showing signs of pressure or weakness.

As for Kenneth’s head increase, his chart reflects a proportionate growth rate and he continues to be in the upper percentile. The doctor wants to see him in six months rather than a year, just to monitor the growth. So I walked out of his office breathing a sigh of relief.

Our little boy has come a long way since that week in December 2 years ago.

MRI Report

The doctor called me at 5:00pm today. I had been waiting all day for his call. Thankfully he had good news. He said Kenneth’s MRI “did not change significantly from last year.” Thank God.

He asked a lot of questions about how he was doing and specifically wanted to know about any unusual signs of weakness in the right side of his body. I assured him Kenneth was fine and never showed symptoms of weakness on either side of the body. With that said, we still have a question mark about the increased head size. So we’ll see the doctor on Monday as scheduled.

MRI Follow-up

We went in for Kenneth’s follow-up MRI today. The procedure went fine. His waking from anesthesia was a bit more bumpy. It was the worst I’ve seen him after these scans. He was very upset, angry and didn’t want to sit or lie on the bed in recovery. We really just waited him out until he let us offer him a drink of apple juice. Then later came the warm welcome of goldfish crackers. Every child loves them. After about 45 minutes we were able to persuade him to go to the car and head home.

Thankfully he did not get sick in the car. And he even ate a bit during dinner. I was happy he recovered well.

I am waiting for the doctor’s call on the radiology report. We go in to see him on Monday for a face-to-face consult. Keep us in your prayers.