Duke Visit

This post is way over due!
Emersyn had an appointment at Duke on June 7th. This was the visit where a CT scan was done and a meeting with Dr. Grant, Emersyn's neurosurgeon.
At this point, Emersyn is 10 months post-surgery, skull should be closing.

The night before the appointment Emersyn had to fast. I was worried about this! Her appointment with Radiology was at 9. Fasting for most people isn't fun, but for an infant this could be challenging! She actually turned out to be a trooper. Nothing less than amazing!! We woke her at 3:30 am for one last feeding, gave her clear liquids until 7, and nothing until 9.
I was waiting for her to get crabby but she never did.
Let me back up, the fasting for a CT scan is due to sedation. A CT scan requires the person not to move. Children obviously have difficulty with this so the doctor always suggests it. When we got into the room the radiologist offered us to try the scan without sedation first. If Emersyn didn't cooperate than we'd go ahead with it. I looked at Zack as if the woman was crazy. Emersyn was already crying because she's going through stranger danger, the chances of her staying still were slim. Zack laid Emersyn on the table and helped strap her down. Yes, this was as bad as it sounds. She was strapped in this white taco looking contraption, which only allowed her little head to stick out. Then pads were placed on either side of her head so she couldn't move. She was screaming, well... Screaming would be an understatement. I felt helpless, terrible, broken-hearted. The only thing we knew how to do was sing. Singing soothes Emersyn, so we gave it a shot!! The louder we sang, the calmer she got! She was also looking at a picture on the ceiling of the scan room. We sang 'Twinkle, Twinkle' and 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' about 50 times. I can imagine how dumb we looked but I didn't care!!! If we could get her still long enough to get the scan than she wouldn't need to be sedated.
Once the machine turned off, the radiologist gave us a THUMBS UP from behind the window. She did it!!! We did it!!! No sedation!! One of the radiologists came out and said how well she did for being 1. They also thanked us for helping, stating that most parents don't help or are to embarrassed to entertain their child. Who would want their child to be sedated if it's not necessary?!?!? We were so proud of our little lady! As always she is amazing and pulls through tough times!

Once the scan was completed we met with Dr. Grant. He said she physically looked wonderful. He felt her head and her soft spot. The CT scan had shown us her skull doing exactly what it should be doing... Closing slowly. If the skull or plates close to fast she would have problems again. Those are the rare cases of children who need a second surgery. Emersyn's skull is right on target. She has a 2x2 soft spot on top of her head, but this is what we want. With time it will close completely. Dr. Grant felt around her head and said everything looks and feels like it's supposed to. Her head as taken a major transformation in 10 months!!!
Dr. Grant was very pleased! I was happy to hear the news and relieved. Not that I thought anything was wrong. I just needed to hear the words.

From this point on we only go back yearly until Emersyn is 8 unless there is a major concern.

Our little hero remains her amazing little self. You can't even see her scar because it's hidden under all that hair! One day she'll have a story to tell.

Emersyn the Warrior Princess!