Tuesday: Brice had his nuclear gastric emptying study. We left at 6am, arrived at 7:30am and upon checking in, we were told that his test had been canceled... ummmm, excuse me? I very politely informed the lady that we were originally scheduled for Thursday but after speaking with Erin (the tech) she rescheduled us for Tuesday. We went back and forth for a 2ish minutes at which point I asked to speak with Erin. Instead, the lady called Erin, we worked things out, got checked in, paid the rest of our insurance deductible (blech!) and patiently waited... waited... waited. {read: we were told to be there at 8:15 and on Monday someone called and said we needed to be there for 7:30 --- well, they were wrong --- we were not taken back until 8:35am}
They made Brice a scrambled egg with a radioactive tracer... in a styrofoam cup... in the microwave (I should probably hop off my soapbox before I even get started about styrofoam and the fact it is not biodegradable and what it emits once heated... sigh). He went to town eating it... until it burned his mouth... after a few tears {from him} and kisses {from me}, life was good and he finished his radioactive egg. Then it was time for fun {read: NOT}...
Brice had to lay on a table...
while papoosed {his head was not strapped down and he had free range of his arms}...
for NINETY {90} MINUTES... pure torture for a toddler...
I brought Toy Story 3 with me and we watched it between tears, screaming and pleas for help (so heartbreaking...) - you would have thought it was Christmas when the lights turned back on in the room and he was able to move again. We had to go back at the 4 hour mark for one last {1 minute} image. We left and went to Chuck E Cheese for an hour because how else do you occupy a toddler when they cannot eat or drink... He won 140 tickets and got a snake and baby frog in return for said tickets. We went back and he started crying as soon as we walked in the room... begging me "no mommy no, please no" - why don't you just rip my heart out kid... but it was only for a minute... thankfully!
Wednesday: Oh Wednesday morning... the antics of Wednesday morning brought me to my knees. I think everything I've been through in regards to doctor appointments, tests, procedures, tears, cries of pain, worrying about test results, the unknown and so much more all finally hit me...
I was in the bathroom doing my makeup because we had to be at the hospital for 10:15am for Brice's Upper GI Series and MBSS. George was getting ready and the boys were playing at my feet... and then it happened... a loud thud that would make any mother's heart know that someone was hurt... then came the screams and my curious 2.5 year old saying "Uh-oh, what happened to Pierce?" --- exactly my thoughts sweet older brother, exactly.
Pierce somehow hit his mouth on the side of our tub. Once I pried his mouth open, wiped away as much blood and saliva as I could, I saw what I feared most... a fracture and an intrusion/luxated injury on tooth E... my poor baby's tooth was chipped (almost spanning the entire length of the base of his tooth) and partially pushed back into his gums. While I rocked him in the nursery, I sat there crying right along with him. As soon as I could compose myself, I called our pediatric dentist on his cell and left a message... then I called his hygienist (a friend of mine) and she said to head into the office for 8:15am. They took a few x-rays and thankfully the pulp of his tooth (nerve) was not damaged. We will go back next Thursday to have his tooth bonded so we can avoid decay (and his tooth will have a normal, non-chipped shape again). As for the intrusion, his tooth should spontaneously re-erupt. It could take quite some time but I am hopeful that because his tooth was not fully erupted to being with, it will continue with it's eruption pattern (maybe just a bit more slowly because of this injury)...
We rushed back home to pick up Brice and George and flew to Baton Rouge. I called the hospital to let them know we were running late due to a minor emergency. We were suppose to arrive at 10:15am because his tests started at 10:30am... we walked ran in at 10:37am. Brice and I went into the back while my other favorite guys waited for us.
Brice started crying the moment we placed him on the table. I knew it was coming, especially after the day we experienced on Tuesday. I promised him that he would not be strapped down. My promises, at that point, meant nothing. He had to drink a liquid barium contrast while lying on his left side. He took one sip and after that, he spit the rest out. The PA really ruined it when she brought in a 60cc syringe. As soon as he saw it, he kept saying "no medicine mommy, no, please no." After that effort, the PA explained that we could either come back another day or they could call our doctor to get an order for an NG tube to fill his stomach. I told them to go ahead with the NG tube. While the PA was in the back, someone else (not sure of her title) came in and offered Brice a tropical punch flavored barium. He didn't like it. She offered strawberry and he drank it... one sip... then another. They started the test again and of course he no longer wanted to drink it. I promised him another trip to Chuck E Cheese and anything else he wanted (hey, I was desperate)... and it worked. He drank enough to fill his stomach. I thought that was fun... then they had to position him in all sorts of positions... he cried, I begged him to cooperate and soon enough, it was over.
After that, we completed his MBSS (modified swallow study). He was less than thrilled. He drank a few sips of the strawberry barium, wouldn't touch the pudding consistency barium and he consumed the graham cracker dipped in the pudding. They saw no aspiration.
After an hour long trip to Chuck E Cheese, we went home... and it was lovely to just relax.
Today, the boys had speech therapy. While our ST was here, Brice started coughing hard while drinking some water. She said she thinks that he is fatiguing while swallowing because it happens around 5ish sips into drinking. We will let Dr. A know at our follow-up visit next Friday.
I had planned on sharing some exciting news in this post, but after some thought, I've decided it deserves it's on post! Come back to visit tomorrow to see our exciting news!!
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