Update on MRI

Today Holland had his MRI. Egypt spent the night at my parent's house and I dropped Romania at the bus stop this morning so it was just the two of us. He couldn't have anything to eat, only clear liquids, so he was pretty cranky all morning. We just took it easy and didn't do school. He played the Wii, played with the cats and Legos until it was time to leave. I'm always amazed at how well he handles being in the hospital. The intake nurse was very nice and the anesthesiologist Dr. Wong came in beforehand to answer any questions. The whole procedure took about 45 minutes and he came out of it beautifully. He was still a bit cranky he couldn't eat right away, but I took him out for Sprite and some McDonald's french fries later. The hardest thing for him is to be "still" and he was told not to do any activity tonight other than sitting on the couch and doing quiet activities. We find out next week what all the headaches mean, but the nurse said that headaches are common to spinal cord issues.

Doctor, Doctor

We are now more than half way done with all the doctor visits before we see the surgeon in December. Holland was recently diagnosed with Spina Bifida. It's been a whirlwind diagnosis. He had an x-ray at our pediatrician's office because he had been so constipated. This has been an ongoing problem. We thought it was just from all the meds he's on to treat his bipolar, but it's not clearing up. My very thorough ped. doc sent the x-ray to a radiologist who confirmed her suspicion: spina bifida occulta (which means "hidden" in latin.) He doesn't have all the outward signs of the more serious spina bifida. It's also possible he has tethered cord. That's what all these doctor appointments are for. He's had an MRI, another x-ray, an abdominal scan, seen a GI doctor. It's exhausting just listing them all. We also see a LCSW every week, a chiropractor once a month and a psychiatrist once a month to monitor his meds. We have to see a Urologist to rule out kidney and bladder problems.
Sometimes I wonder why he was given so many things to deal with. It must be because God has some great plan for him to minister to someone. One day, one person will be so affected by all that he's gone through, that that person will turn his life over to Christ. I so want this to be glorifying to God. He has so many things going against him; but he has the most important thing going for him: God's love and committment to him as His child.