The Paranoid Lives of BT Parents

I've mentioned on a couple of occasions how our lives have changed in that we scrutinize every little thing about Isabella. Is she limping a little bit more now, or did she slur a little bit more today compared to yesterday? We are constantly looking for signs of progression because as we've learned, time is everything in cancer treatment and the earlier you catch something, the better off you are. So either fortunately or unfortunately, this paranoia of brain tumor (BT) parents extends to all of their kids.

A few weeks ago, we noticed that Nathaniel smiled crookedly a couple times and he also complained of frequent stomachaches. We reported this to his pediatrician, and knowing our history with Isabella he immediately scheduled an MRI for him. This probably wouldn't be standard procedures for other parents, but he knew that we would be driven crazy by not knowing - and if there was something, the earlier we would catch it, the better it would be.

So on Friday we drove up to Yale New Haven hospital for Nathaniel's scheduled MRI. We really didn't expect much from it, but again, with the paranoia of BT parents, we had a little "scanxiety". Nathaniel acted like his normal, rambunctious self as they took him back to the waiting area. The MRI was done under full sedation, so he was asleep for the whole thing. When we went back to the recovery area after the MRI was complete, we were so sad to see him lying on the gurney, with a breathing tube in his mouth and an IV sticking out of his hand. He woke up a little while later and was no worse for wear, back to his rambunctious self (with a brand new dinosaur toy). We would have to wait the entire weekend to get the results.

Today, we got a call early this morning to report that Nathaniel's MRI was normal. So this is a big sigh of relief for us and one less thing we have to worry about, because quite frankly, I think we have enough!

Have a Happy Halloween!