You help hold your son down and tell him, "Its ok, you're safe." As three nurses work to place an IV, he screams and fights with the strength of a boy who has walked with his arms for seven years.
"Nooooo! I don't want this!! Nooooo!!!!"
"I know Babe, we need it for the picture." You rub his brow with your free hand. His eyes look everywhere and nowhere and never once lock with yours.
You have both missed the last day of school, a day of sing-alongs and snowman-making, to be at the hospital for a Cat Scan of his chest and nose in your search to find the cause of his constant cough and congestion.
You are told he needs to be sedated so he is still for the pictures.
And yet when they roll him to the white donut-like machine he is still awake. Still fighting. The nurse attempts to hold his head still as he continues to jerk and cry and you find yourself standing there in your lead apron wondering what just happened.
Why the IV? Why the drugs? If they didn't even plan to put him to sleep for the pictures. Why the six-hour torture session for a few five-second snapshots? Couldn't we have just asked him to be real still? Made it a game of sleep or statues? And you are mad at yourself for not insisting on a more comprehensive discussion with the doctor who sauntered in hours late, gave orders, and walked out before you knew what to ask.
"Maybe next time we go to the hospital we can spend the night," your son says as you drive home. You smile at your husband and wish you were half as resilient as your son.
Pumped full of Versed, he never does sleep. He dances in the kitchen with you to Zoot Suit Riot. Helps you vaccuum the house. Says, "Maybe next time we go to the hospital we can check out the 4th floor and talk to the grown-ups up there."
"Maybe," you say. Not wanting to go back.
Knowing you will.
i know that food is difficult with him but have you looked into food allergies? I am not a believer that gluten is the big culprit but certainly dairy allergies produce congestion as a symptom.
Can you get decent cat scan photos if he didn't stay still? That's awful that the sedation didn't work:( My daughter was sedated for an MRI last summer and we are scheduled to rinse and repeat sometime in 2012 (the sedation made her ill on and off for 2 days).
Posted by: s.e. | 12/17/2011 at 08:23 AM
That's our next step. We see a Naturapath next week. And we also now need to find a good ENT doc to check Elias's adnoids (sp?). Not sure how he checks and whether Elias would need o be sedated again.
I did end up calling the doc from this post to share my concerns and he owned his mistake, said he under-sedated Elias and would use a different drug next time. One option would mean no IV. For Elias it is the anticipation of the IV not the pain that gets him, after he was traumatized years ago by multiple attempts to place an IV...
Oh but he recovers more quickly than I do.
Posted by: Christy | 12/17/2011 at 09:28 AM
Oh, God, I'm so sorry. We have been in those exact shoes at one point or another. One thing to ask about for any future procedures...NO VERSED. We discovered, the VERY hard way, that Nik has a paradoxical reaction to it and other meds in the same class (valium, versed, etc.). They make him extremely hyper, anxious and agitated. Combative even. Once we figured that out, the docs have avoided it and we've had good results with propofal or sevoflurane (gas). It also took us years to finally find a really good GI doctor who could tell us that even though Nik doesn't *technically* have food allergies, he may be super sensitive to several things. He did determine, via endoscopic biopsy, that he is missing lactase, the enzyme to break down dairy sugars. Since we made that discovery and added a simple enzyme...SO.MUCH.BETTER in terms of GI *and* ENT issues! Ask your doc about that...apparently lactase (lph) doesn't fully develop until third trimester (about 38 weeks it's at 70%) and many preemies have lactose intolerance as a result.
Posted by: Niksmom | 12/17/2011 at 02:54 PM
Niksmom, thank you for writing about this! That's the first I've heard of preemies and lactose intolerance. I'm calling Elias's doc on Monday and will talk with him about this. Pretty typical that I'd learn more from another Mom than from a day in the hospital. Nick and I send a cheers to you tonight:)
Posted by: Christy | 12/17/2011 at 09:19 PM
I hate even suggesting this, but when my son had a runny nose for a year we had take a very easy skin test to rule out CF. God, I hate even writing that. Ours was neg.
Posted by: danielle in zurich | 12/18/2011 at 04:24 AM
So sad and sorry for yours and Elia's experience. I am a pediatric nurse practitioner and I can tell you that his experience (and yours) does not have to be repeated. A pediatric anesthesiologist should be able to sedate him without all the trauma. It requires the doctor to stay during the procedure, use inhaled gas through a mask and then the placement of the IV. It is your right and don't feel bad about making a consult appointment prior to the procedure with the anesthesiologist and the head of the CT scanner unit. The post about Versed is correct; the paradoxical reaction is not common, but we do see it. You are a great mom and I am confident you will make this better for all of you the next time he needs a procedure.
Posted by: Abby | 12/18/2011 at 05:13 AM
so awesome that you have a place to share all this info! I am old enough to still think that cell phones and the web are incredible! My eleven year old still can't believe that I grew up without these things. I f the doc is on the fence about his adenoids, my advice will be to remove them. My husband had his removed a couple of years ago after recurring illness etc. and that was terrible as an adult. Kids recover MUCH quicker. (his was tonsils too) More importantly, Happy Birthday to OLIVE! Can't believe she is 2 already. Have a very merry celebration. xo.
Posted by: fleming | 12/18/2011 at 09:03 AM
Abby, I will go into another procedure far more educated this time. Thank you for your advice about a consult ahead of time and for letting me know it doesn't have to be this way.
danielle, I'll keep that in the back of my brain and I commend you for writing what is hard to say.
Flem, more good advice. Thank you. And thanks for the birthday wish for Olive. We had a nice low-key day. No party just family time and minimal presents. Figure this is the year we can get away without too much hoopla. I too can't believe she's already two!
Posted by: Christy | 12/18/2011 at 09:20 PM
When my youngest needed his tonsils/adenoids out, the docs sedated him with a gas mask before starting an IV. Maybe this would work with Elias.
I wish you luck next time. Hope you get the answers you are looking for.
Posted by: Lee | 12/19/2011 at 07:21 PM