Finally a MRI

The day finally arrived, it has been just over a year since Norah had a MRI. I couldn't wait for a good peak inside that little head of hers. Norah last had an ultrasound in January that said her ventricles were shrinking and that's where we have been left hanging. In June she was scheduled to have an MRI and her doctors felt she was doing so well they postponed it until now.

Norah is doing great, I know, I see it everyday in her interactions with us, her babbling, and her crawling. Lately I find myself needing some reassurance, especially since Jason and Norah's tumble down the stairs leaving Norah with the cephalohematoma, which is nearly gone now. Norah's head circumference has changed little over the last six months, she has gone from 90th percentile down the the 15th percentile for age. That's a almost a straight line down the chart, not the nice little curve they tell you it should be. We've been told a decrease is normally after shunt placement, since the extra CSF is being drained off, but I still see no plateau in sight.

Norah also has a flat spot on the back of her head that we have been told would round out once she was sitting up. No change. In fact it almost seems to be getting worse, it looks like a dimple in the back of her head. That leaves us wondering if her shunt is over draining, not leaving enough CSF to cushion her head and let her head round out.

So today Norah and I head to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and finally had a MRI. Norah was a trooper as usually, and as always a fighter. She fought the nurses putting in her IV and fought against the nitrous gas ripping off the mask. But after getting a fourth person to hold down my little 17 pound baby, an IV was place after the 3rd attempt and off to dream land she went.

Norah took almost two hours to wake up from her sedation. While I was waiting for her slumber to fade, I got a sneak peak at her images. Her images are still far from normal, but it was nice to see that black space that was previously filled with fluid that couldn't circulate was filed in with beautiful brain tissue. I sure we will not know what the report says for a couple weeks, worse yet until she sees neurology in November...what I know I told you before, Norah is doing great!