hurry up and wait

Well I've been slacking a bit on the updates, but there's a few things to vent about since Caden's MRI last friday at Sick Kids.  We were supposed to arrive by 8am for the procedure to begin at 9.  We ended up getting there for 7, checked in, then had to wait around for a bit trying to relax with a coffee.  We were then taken in around 8 or so to have Caden's vital signs done and go over some of the information with the nurse.  Closer to 9 we got him changed into a gown and were finally called in to the room with the anesthetist, who again went over some questions and gave us the opportunity to ask questions.  It was at this point they mentioned that the MRI was actually booked for 3 hours, not the 1.5-2 hours we were originally told.  I also was not expecting them to swaddle Caden and put the gas mask on him while we were still there.  It was heartbreaking because he was crying and struggling and I had to try and soothe him by talking to him right in his face until he went to sleep.  Afterwards I said to Dave that I felt a bit woozy because I could smell the gas while I was that close to the mask.
From that point it was time to wait for 3 hours, and by the end of that time we were so anxious to see Caden, we rushed into the recovery room as soon as they called us.  It was upsetting to see our little guy completely out of it.  He was awake, but all limp and just blankly staring at the nurse with his mouth open.  Luckily, he came around pretty quickly, and except for seeming hungry, tired and a bit weak, he was almost back to normal by the time we got home.

About an hour or so after we got home, I noticed his face was getting flushed red and hot, but he didn't have a fever at all.  I called the MRI nurse to ask about possible reactions, and she consulted with the other staff who agreed that the general anesthetic would be out of his system already, but the contrast dye does last a bit longer, so any reaction would likely be due to that.  I asked if I could give him benadryl, they said it was a good idea, but to take him to emerg if the reaction didn't improve.  After giving the medication, the flushing seemed to go away, and then Caden was off to sleep for a bit.

After he woke up again, and for the rest of the evening, he kept doing this strange spastic head shaking-as though he was shaking his head "no" quickly, it would last for 5 or so seconds each time.  At first glance it looked almost seizure-like, but we could stop him from doing it by gently touching his face, and his eyes weren't rolling or unfocused, so initially I wasn't too worried.  But then of course I went online and started looking up side effects of the contrast dye.  Dave was also getting concerned that he kept doing it, and I was starting to think that I would be uncomfortable putting him to bed and going to sleep myself if something was wrong.  After a quick call to Sick Kids and being unable to get in touch with anyone in the MRI department, we decided to go to McMaster children's emerg, rather than our local hospital that deals mostly with adults.

Bad idea.  We had to wait from about 11:30 until after 3 in the morning, only to be seen by an incompetent doctor who basically just reiterated what I was saying, and then prescribed Caden ativan.  Since I didn't trust him I asked to have a written prescription rather than him be given the meds there, just so I could check with the pharmacist.  We may as well have stayed home for all the help we got there.  On the way home we stopped at shoppers pharmacy and I picked up the one pill that was prescribed after consulting the pharmacist to ensure it was safe.  When we got home I ended up giving Caden only half a dose because he was so tired  and wasn't shaking his head much anymore.

On Saturday there were a few incidents of the head shake, but not nearly as often as friday, and then fewer again on Sunday.  I haven't seen any today, so I'm hoping it was just a transient thing, possibly related to the MRI contrast, and maybe compounded by the stress and exhaustion of going through the procedure.

As it stands, we now have to wait 3 weeks for the results of the test, however while Caden was in recovery, the nurse had mentioned that there weren't any urgent findings that would warrant immediate consultation during the MRI.  I am assuming that means there weren't any issues with his brain or other major organs, and that we are dealing with vascular malformations mainly in the arm, but we will find out for sure on June 7.  Until then it's good to see the little man back to his normal self :)