Here come the MIB(G)

Thursday morning came and Oliver was prepped for the MIBG.  This test was designed at UM (my aunt actually helped develop it when she worked in the nuclear med department) and is used world wide specifically to look for tiny neuroblastomas that may have been missed on other scans (CT, MRI, ect).  We had steady confidence that the results would be negative and were very grateful that my aunt knew the CRNA who would be part of Oliver's scan.  Mary was awesome...she is a mother and really helped set Oliver at ease (even before the sedatives were on board:) before and after the scan. Taylor and I had been able to  grab a nap while he was in the scan and felt so much better for it.    However, the nap ended quickly when the pager went off...since they knew us, we were able to go down to the PACU even before Oliver woke up.  When he did wake up, he polished off a bomb pop and we were sent back upstairs to await the results.

The rest of the day, Ollie was pretty tired and very irritable.  We would find out a week later that a handful of sedatives and all narcotics can amplify Ollie's symptoms and increase his irritability.  (Needless to say, there is now a note in his file following another incident with a narcotic when they placed his port this week.) Taylor and I both have a list of these counter-indicated drugs in our phones now so we will always have them at hand.

I forgot to mention one of the things that made our stay a little easier....the HOSTS!  Lynn and Devin were our unit hosts and really went out of their way to make us feel comfortable.  Lynn "got" Taylor and they had a good time trading humor.  These ladies are non-medical personnel and are there just to help meet the needs of patients and parents.  Sort of like unglamorous concierge.  The other ladies that really made a difference for Oliver were the Child Life Services crew.  They brought Oliver a pile of books, crayons and some stickers on his first day on the floor that really helped pass the time.  They also have a program called Hope Beads where the kids get a personalized dog tag and beads that correlate with the procedures they have while inpatient.  It is a coping technique for the older kids, to help them tell their story when they get home.  In our case, Oliver liked putting the beads on and off the string:)  We also got gifts from the Giving Library (I think they GAVE us a book a day to take home with us) and the peds anesthesia teams gave Oliver a toy every time he had a procedure.  There was even a company that came by with games for every kid!  We came home with a bag full of loot thanks to generous people and companies who donate to Mott.  If you or anyone you know has been a part of that generosity, THANK YOU!