Piddly little MRI

Emma had her MRI on Friday afternoon, and she, of course, dealt with it all like a champ.  We did our best the night before to stuff her like a little pig and keep her up as late as possible because she couldn't eat past midnight until the MRI was over around 3:00 Friday afternoon.  Emma slept late and didn't fuss once about being hungry.  She even went back to sleep for a 45 minute morning nap.  I can't even remember the last time she took a morning nap - this is how I know God is watching over our little girl.  Not just the big things, but the little things like lulling her to sleep so that she doesn't feel the hunger.

Anyway, Emma came through the MRI just fine, even with the breathing tube down her throat.  She fared much better than she did after her last MRI in June - no choking, coughing, gurgling.  Just kinda scared and not wanting to let go of Daddy.  I fed her in the recovery room, and we were home by 5:00.  It took some convincing to get the anesthesiologist to let her go home.  Hospital protocol states that any child with sleep apnea must be admitted for overnight observation if he or she has been put under anesthesia.  Thankfully, Emma's sleep specialist called in when he was paged late on a Friday afternoon to put the anesthesiologist's fears to rest...otherwise, we would have had to come home Saturday morning.

The hospital staff let Emma take Bun back with her.  She loves on Bun when she goes to sleep, and he's very comforting to her.  When we got back to Emma in the recovery room, Bun had apparently received an IV as well.

We will get the results of Emma's MRI on Feb. 2.  Dr. Troup will tell us then when he's considering doing Emma's Chiari decompression.  Unless her symptoms get drastically worse, the earliest she will have the surgery is probably April.

Emma continues to amaze us with her language development.  Her most recent words are key, tools, three (or something similar), Leigh (my coworker), uh-oh, more, and bot (bottle).  When I say recent, I mean in the last 4 days.

God has truly blessed us with answered prayers.  Thank you to all of you who were praying for our baby girl on Friday.  Our church family has simply been amazing in supporting us.  Stephen, our pastor, came to the hospital on Friday and hung out with us during the MRI.  Words just don't express the respect and adoration I have for that man.  He feels like part of our family.  Russell and I joke around with him like family, too - dangerous territory!  Let's hope Stephen sticks around for another 40 years or so - his wisdom, humility, relatability, and, most especially, love for Christ, are exactly what I want my daughter to experience in a pastor as she grows up.  And if we ever move away from Greenville, we fully expect Stephen and his wife Sylvia to move with us!

In closing, let's take a stroll down memory lane at how Emma was doing this time last year:

December 21, 2010

January 1, 2011, #1

January 1, 2011, #2

January 1, 2011, #3

January 1, 2011, #4

January 5, 2011

January 9, 2011

January 10, 2011

January 12, 2011