Friday, June 3, 2011

Annual Neurosurgery Follow-up Weekend

In our usual style, we take advantage of our 'compulsory' trips to Toronto by coupling them with lot's of fun.

This year Summer's Neurosurgeon asked that she have a baseline CT Scan as it has been almost 4 years since her last one. It is routine that young children are anaesthetized for the scan as many have a difficult time keeping still. I insisted that we give it a go without putting her under and the nurses and radiologist were game.

We arrived at the department at 8am and did all the preliminary questionnaires, vitals, etc. at 8:30 we headed over to the CT Suite. The technician explained everything to Summer. She began to feel some real anxiety and tell me she was scared and nervous. The tech suggested that her Turtle stuffie get scanned first, so we strapped him on, and the table slid into position. Summer thought this was great, but she was still not willing to get on the table.

The tech and the nurse left the suite so I could try to settle her down. The threat of a needle didn't seem to be helping, so I tried a softer approach, this was even worse. Eventually, I used my 'counting strategy', this is where I begin to count to 5, and if I get to 5, there are consequences... like no TV, or the loss of a privilege. Had I thought her anxiety was completely true, with no playing it up, I might not have gone this route... but it worked like a charm. She hopped on the table, I gave the thumbs up to the nurse who came to 'tuck her in', and we got on with the show.

The CT seemed to take only seconds where Summer pretended to be a statue and hold very still. She snuggled her Turtle, and I held her hands. Before we knew it, it was over and they said the picture was clear.

We'll see her Neurosurgeon on Monday.

Barb came with me today as Don is still in Kingston. He'll meet us here on Saturday. I was grateful to have her join us and provide an extra diversion for Summer's attention.

We left Sick Kids at 10:30 and headed for Sunnybrook Hospital to see Maureen for a quick update visit. She had a good look at Summer and her movement and gave us some things to work on. As well she recommended it is time for Botox in her calf again. Not surprising given her recent growth spurts.

We ended our visit with Maureen with a tour of the new NICU. In a word - incredible. It looks more like an adult critical care unit with private rooms for all the isolettes, private entrance and hallway for parents, a beautiful parents lounge etc. It is wonderful to see that both the care team and patients are in an environment where they are not just 'making due with what they have' but really having what they need. It is hard enough to go through the NICU experience without tripping over other families, not having the privacy you need, not having the space you need. That has all been addressed and more.

We ran into a couple of nurses that were pretty special to us 4.5 years ago. It was great to see them again and to show off Summer's progress.

I took some terrific pictures today, but of course i left my camera cord at home... I will post them next week.

Now... onto more fun - Brooklin Festival tomorrow with Matthew, Eric & Emilie!
Sunday - Family gathering at the Bunton's!

No comments:

Post a Comment