MRI

Today is Kai's MRI. I'm sure everything will go just fine; there's a pediatric anesthesia team, which is comforting to know. Since they have to put him under general anesthesia it's good to know that specialists will be in charge of doing it.

His last solid food was this morning at 7. He can have clear liquids until 10. We have to be there at 12 noon, his sedation is at 1 and the MRI begins at 1:30. That is a long time for my little guy to go without food!

Stunned

Today's mail*

*click to enlargeMODs: What have been your experiences with insurance and your LP child?

This letter only just came today and right now I'm feeling definitely taken aback, confused and frankly, unjustly discriminated against. If Kai were terminally ill I could understand being turned down. But he's not! He is as healthy as and has the same life expectancy as an average height child his same age. In fact, I would venture to posit that Kai is, in many ways, more healthy than an average height child his same age.

I'm going to get to the bottom of this.

Halloween 2009

So much fun. Kai was the cutest little gingerbread man.

Big sister Ashleigh was a bride.

John was an army guy, I was a gypsie, and Hailey was a witch. We didn't plan for John to stand in front of the plant with his camo-painted face. He blends in pretty well, doesn't he?

This is Kai's favorite girl, Britanie.

Calling Cards

When we're out and about we often meet people who are enchanted with Kai. And now, thanks to these new "business" cards I just ordered, I can direct them to his blog more prettily than scribbling it on whatever scrap of paper or receipt was handy.

"Run, run, run as fast as you can..."

Costume

I sewed Kai's Halloween costume last night.

Pictures to come (my camera battery is charging).

Any guesses on what it is??

Hint: It's something yummy.

Back to the Usual

The spots went away after a few days. They started on his face, spread to his abdomen and from there moved out to his arms and legs. Then they disappeared.

We had a visit with the neurosurgeon up at Shriners. They showed me the x-rays of Kai's spine. There is abnormal curvature at its cervical and sacral parts. At the back of his neck his spine curves forward; instead of the vertabrae stacking on top of each other, they are slanted, somewhat like stairs. The major concern right now is spinal cord compression. Kai needs to have an MRI to determine if there is any immediate danger to his spinal cord. Assuming all goes well witht he MRI, he will only need a follow-up visit in about 5 months. They didn't tell us "worst case scenario"; they didn't have to. Worst case scenario is spinal surgery.

The MRI will be scheduled for sometime in the next 6 weeks. It will be done up at OHSU in Portland where they have a dedicated Pediatric Anesthesia team. Kai will have to be put under general anesthesia for the MRI, which is a danger in itself. C'est la vie.