Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Baltimore Train Museum
A couple weekends ago we went to the Baltimore Train Museum. I've been wanting to take Nolan to the train museum for years now and it was getting to the point that he was going to outgrow his train obsession before we ever got there. I had some discount coupons that were about to expire, so luckily that was the incentive that finally got us there. He really enjoyed it, although Karly wasn't too thrilled. Happily Grandma and Grandpa went with us so that made it much more fun for everyone.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Headaches
The headaches started the last day I posted here - Feb. 12. It was while we are at Kids N Motion, that Nolan suddenly stopped playing and came over to me, grabbed the back of his head and said, "my head hurts." He had done this a few times before, but it was pretty infrequent and always when riding in the car. After Feb. 12, it suddenly became near daily, and not always after riding in the car, although that continued to be the predominant pattern.
One day he said it after we got into his classroom in the morning at school. Even when he hadn't complained about it for awhile, if I asked, he would tell me that yes, it still hurt. So I stopped asking. I racked my brain for what could be causing his head to hurt, because 5 year olds just shouldn't be getting daily headaches for no reason, but nothing made sense. Vision problems, jaw problems, or motion sickness were my best guesses, but none seemed to really fit. We went to the pediatrician and she referred us to a neurologist. Of course our appointment was nearly a month away.
Then one night after he lay down in bed, he grabs his head, "My head hurts and I want to go to the doctor." All I could think was, "Head hurts with change in position = brain tumor symptom." The next day we went to the ER. Normal CT scan. Try to relax. But CT scans can miss things. The headaches continue. Another night, "My head is hurting, getting worse and worse, on top."
One day I pick him up from school and they tell me he hit his head on a pole at the playground. Oh my gosh, is he getting clumsy, losing his balance? Nobody saw it happen so of course I can only imagine the worst. Later that same day, he somehow hits his head at the top of the slide. I was right there, but my view was obstructed so again, not sure how it happened. Did he have a moment of weakness or loss of balance?
Another day I pick him up from school and he tells me something smells bad. Minutes later he vomits. Headaches and vomiting = brain tumor symptom. Back to the pediatrician. They still have no answers.
The wonderful assistant at our pediatrician's office is persistent and somehow manages to get us in earlier at the neurologist. The neurologist is wonderful too and spends a lot of time with us and thoroughly reviews the detailed notes I've been keeping. She writes an order for him to get an MRI. Finally, we will know for sure if something serious is wrong.
Three more interminable weeks to wait for the MRI. A week into the wait, I find out a separate appointment is needed for MRI without sedation (which we wanted to attempt before doing sedation), and we are able to get an appointment for just a few days away - March 12, exactly a month since this nightmare began. We have to cancel our other appointment we've already waited a week for, but have to take the chance.
Now, the question is, how will a 5 year old boy lay perfectly still for 45 minutes with absolutely nothing to distract him? Many prayers were sent and he did it! The entire procedure went perfectly and Nolan could not have done better. It was 9 pm and he fell asleep almost right away. Thanks to the lidocaine he didn't even flinch when they injected the contrast. He woke up towards the end but still remained perfectly still. I was sooo proud of him.
Then the interminable wait for the results. One night he asks me if people have bones in their head. When I tell him yes, he says, "Then I think I broke the bones in my head when I was jumping at Kids N Motion." I pick him up from school yesterday and they tell me he vomited at lunch. Somehow a kid threw a piece of his lunch into Nolan's mouth (okay??) and it grossed him out and made him gag, and then of course he threw up. So another episode of random vomiting.
Then FINALLY the call comes yesterday afternoon. "His MRI is essentially normal." Essentially?? She clarifies that it is normal and there is nothing to be concerned about. It does show some white matter spots, which are often found on people that are prone to headaches, but they are nothing for concern. Praise God! There are really no words to describe the extent of relief I experienced. This kid had me scared to death for over a month. Many prayers were answered and I am so thankful to God for his health. We will continue to monitor the headaches and follow up with the neurologist in a few weeks. We also still have an eye doctor appointment on the off chance that he is having vision problems.
One day he said it after we got into his classroom in the morning at school. Even when he hadn't complained about it for awhile, if I asked, he would tell me that yes, it still hurt. So I stopped asking. I racked my brain for what could be causing his head to hurt, because 5 year olds just shouldn't be getting daily headaches for no reason, but nothing made sense. Vision problems, jaw problems, or motion sickness were my best guesses, but none seemed to really fit. We went to the pediatrician and she referred us to a neurologist. Of course our appointment was nearly a month away.
Then one night after he lay down in bed, he grabs his head, "My head hurts and I want to go to the doctor." All I could think was, "Head hurts with change in position = brain tumor symptom." The next day we went to the ER. Normal CT scan. Try to relax. But CT scans can miss things. The headaches continue. Another night, "My head is hurting, getting worse and worse, on top."
One day I pick him up from school and they tell me he hit his head on a pole at the playground. Oh my gosh, is he getting clumsy, losing his balance? Nobody saw it happen so of course I can only imagine the worst. Later that same day, he somehow hits his head at the top of the slide. I was right there, but my view was obstructed so again, not sure how it happened. Did he have a moment of weakness or loss of balance?
Another day I pick him up from school and he tells me something smells bad. Minutes later he vomits. Headaches and vomiting = brain tumor symptom. Back to the pediatrician. They still have no answers.
The wonderful assistant at our pediatrician's office is persistent and somehow manages to get us in earlier at the neurologist. The neurologist is wonderful too and spends a lot of time with us and thoroughly reviews the detailed notes I've been keeping. She writes an order for him to get an MRI. Finally, we will know for sure if something serious is wrong.
Three more interminable weeks to wait for the MRI. A week into the wait, I find out a separate appointment is needed for MRI without sedation (which we wanted to attempt before doing sedation), and we are able to get an appointment for just a few days away - March 12, exactly a month since this nightmare began. We have to cancel our other appointment we've already waited a week for, but have to take the chance.
Now, the question is, how will a 5 year old boy lay perfectly still for 45 minutes with absolutely nothing to distract him? Many prayers were sent and he did it! The entire procedure went perfectly and Nolan could not have done better. It was 9 pm and he fell asleep almost right away. Thanks to the lidocaine he didn't even flinch when they injected the contrast. He woke up towards the end but still remained perfectly still. I was sooo proud of him.
Then the interminable wait for the results. One night he asks me if people have bones in their head. When I tell him yes, he says, "Then I think I broke the bones in my head when I was jumping at Kids N Motion." I pick him up from school yesterday and they tell me he vomited at lunch. Somehow a kid threw a piece of his lunch into Nolan's mouth (okay??) and it grossed him out and made him gag, and then of course he threw up. So another episode of random vomiting.
Then FINALLY the call comes yesterday afternoon. "His MRI is essentially normal." Essentially?? She clarifies that it is normal and there is nothing to be concerned about. It does show some white matter spots, which are often found on people that are prone to headaches, but they are nothing for concern. Praise God! There are really no words to describe the extent of relief I experienced. This kid had me scared to death for over a month. Many prayers were answered and I am so thankful to God for his health. We will continue to monitor the headaches and follow up with the neurologist in a few weeks. We also still have an eye doctor appointment on the off chance that he is having vision problems.
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