MRI

Thursday morning Evee was scheduled for her MRI to check for Hydrocephalus, a condition that is common with her syndrome. We had the earliest possible time slot for we were trying the impossible, have Evee sleep through the screening.
We woke up at 5 AM to Evee blowing raspberries. We played with her a bit, then left the house at 5:30. We got to the hospital at 6:15, then waited the next hour to be brought back for Evee's MRI.
I would say that Todd was pessimistic that having Evee sleep through the MRI wouldn't work, but honestly, I would have to admit that he was being realistic. He kept reminding me that he questioned why we were even attempting to do it for it would not work.
I ignored him. I wanted it to work. I needed it to work. Evee needed it to work. Sedation with intubation was not a favorable option for her. The neurologist was doubtful it would work and even the MRI scheduler was not hopeful at all. But I am stubborn. As we sat in the waiting room, I played with Evee, made her do her "exercises", anything that would wear her out for I was concerned that she wasn't going to be sleepy enough to endure the entire MRI while sleeping.
Finally at 7:15 the MRI tech came and brought us back. She looked at Evee (who by this time was hungry and tired), looked at us and remarked that she didn't think that this would work, but that she would try it. I did not appreciate her attitude, especially since I needed her to be patient and willing to work with us so that it could be successful. Todd didn't like her for she made a variation on the doctor's orders. (I think he took it a little too personal). We were taken to a back room where we could feed Evee and get her asleep before we brought her into the MRI room.  I asked the tech if I could have some ear plugs so that I could tape them to Evee's ears before she fell asleep, but the tech said that she had a system all set up in the MRI room.
Evee quickly fell asleep. After allowing her to be asleep for a few minutes, Todd and I got prepared to take her to the MRI. Before we did, we said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to help Evee sleep through the MRI, if it be His will.
I was very disappointed to see the tech's "system" of covering Evee's ears. It was not as secure and sound proof as I would have liked, but I was not going to throw attitude to the woman who held so much power in her hands. We got Evee wrapped and strapped to the bed.
When Evee sleeps, she snores....loudly, and her chest contracts.....badly - this is due to her breathing issues. When the tech saw Evee's breathing, she got very concerned. I used this opportunity to stress to the tech why it was so important for us to be able to do this without sedation.  The tech wanted to attach a pulse-ox machine to Evee, but by this time it would have been not in our favor to move Evee. She was in a sound sleep and we did not want to disturb her. Todd promised to watch her the entire time in exchange of not putting the pulse-ox on Evee. The tech agreed.
Todd and I opted to stay in the room with Evee during the MRI. We were given ear plugs, which we put in. We held onto each other as we nervously watched, hoping and praying that Evee would not awaken to the deafening sounds that were about to start.
As the machine began, I held my breath. I watched for any sort of a startle, any sort of movement, but all that I saw was Evee's steady breathing. I was thrilled with this, but not entirely relieved. The sound of an MRI is nothing like a soft and steady white noise. It is jerky, with unrythmetic loud beeps and noises. I knew that it was going to be a long, stressful test.
After 10 minutes, I decided to sit down and read. An MRI room is a very interesting room. It reminds me of the room that was needed to keep Magneto (?) imprisoned in one of the X-Men movies. The MRI uses huge magnets. There can't be any magnets. The chair was made of PVC pipes and a cushion. I wore a single bobby pin in my hair and was surprised to feel it pulled away from my hair when I went into the room.
I tried to focus on my book, but found it difficult. I was still anxious. Every new "session" of noises made my heart race, hoping and praying Evee didn't wake up. While I read, Todd stayed solid on his feet, eyes intensely watching Evee (he sure does love that girl).
Halfway through the MRI Todd turns to the window and gives them the signal to stop the test. Evelyn had thrown up. Not just a little spit up, but a full on throw up. She was lying on her back and Todd said it looked like a little fountain that went up and came back down on her face.
The board she was on was brought out of the machine. I wiped her soaked face off with a washcloth and wiped all I could, but I did not want to move her. Evee was awake, but I was hoping that she would fall back asleep. As she smiled up at me, I wasn't sure that would be the case.
The tech asked if there was something we could do to help her fall back asleep and the only thing I could think of was to get out of her eyesight. Evee is incredibly social and will stay awake if she feels that there is a "conversation" to be had.
Todd, the tech, and I all backed away from Evee and quietly watched as we all hoped she would go back to sleep. I could sense that the tech was more supportive of Evee getting this MRI without sedation and I appreciated her being more willing to be patient.
After a couple of minutes I was wondering if Evee had made any progress in falling back asleep. It was difficult to see her eyes from where we were, but I soon got my answer. Evee started to blow raspberries.
As cute as these little noises were, it was terribly frustrating. We needed Evee to go to sleep, but the raspberries were a sure sign to me that she was no where near sleeping.
I felt devastated. We were half-way through. We were so close. Evee could have done it, if she hadn't puked.
I knew we were getting close for the tech to call it. We had been waiting for awhile for Evee to go back to sleep, the tech had given us adequate amount of time, but Evee was not showing any signs that she was going to go back to sleep. I knew that the tech was going to call it soon.
Then I thought of all the people who were praying for Evee. I thought of all the prayers I had said. I knew that God could help facilitate this MRI to occur. I just knew it, so again I called upon God to help us. I asked Him to help Evee be overcome with sleep. As silly as it sounds to pray for sleep, when you realize what is at risk without it, you see how important it could be. I knew that my faith alone may not be enough, but with everyone that was praying for her, there was enough prayers and faith to have this accomplished.
Suddenly a thought came into my mind.  Evee had left about 1/2 an ounce in her bottle. I had Todd fetch it. Then, without her seeing me, I went over to Evee, fed her the remaining milk, then once she finished I popped the pacifier in her mouth. Evee's eyes started to look heavy, but not heavy enough. I softly put my fingertips on her eyes and forced them closed. I held them, gently, there for a few more minutes. I soon felt Evee relax more, soon heard her snore. She had fallen back asleep. How deep was her sleep? I couldn't be certain, but it was worth a try.
The tech pushed Evee's board back into the machine, left the room and started the MRI.
Again I held my breath as the machine roared back to life.
Again Evee seemed to not even notice the sounds going on around her.
Evee was able to sleep through the remainder of the test.
A huge weight was lifted from me.
God had answered our prayers. He had helped us. I knew it. There was no other way Evee would have been able to do it without His help.