MRI today

I was very nervous taking Lauren in for this procedure. The Cat Scan was a disaster. It took over 5 needle sticks to get an IV in. By the time they did, Lauren was absolutely hysterical. I've had this on my mind since then.

Of course, the hospital did not make things better. They called on Wednesday and did a brief history with Bob. He said she had autism. We never hide these things. They call back on Thursday and decide that she is no longer a canidate for oral sedation and want to put her under general anthesia to do the MR. The reasoning is that kids with autism don't do well with sedation. Instead of going to sleep, they become extremely hyperactive and combative.

That's fine and well but Lauren's been sedated 3 times before. She has never had a problem. She has always gone right to sleep. The Cat Scan was the exception. I'm convinced that it was due to the adrenaline flowing through her that kept her from going to sleep immediately. Anyway, she never became combative. This is the part that I hate. They looked at the diagnosis, the didn't look at the child. Lauren is not just a kid with autism. Her name is Lauren and she has a specific medical history. Please look at it.

After a lot of convincing, they agreed to try the sedation but kept an appointment for general anthesia for Monday if we failed. What could be more reassuring then that! The good thing is that one of the nurses remembered us. She said Lauren went right to sleep. I don't mean much as a mom but if a nurse says it, it must be true.

We went in and I mentioned the problems we had last time. The nurse looked at her veins and said "I'll call the IV team" They came in, threw some hot compresses on her, and had her IV in before she could even flinch.

The MRI was totaly uneventful. No adrenaline so they used about 1/3 of the meds they did before. She was stirring when they carried her up. She sat up, drank some apple juice, and chewed on a cracker. We were out of there as soon as we could sign the paperwork. Much, much better. I love the IV team!