You may remember that after T's 1 year doctor's visit we had to schedule a follow-up appointment. I didn't want to talk about it because I was worried.
Today we had the follow-up. The follow-up was a CT scan. T's head was measuring very large (>100th percentile for her age). It has been going up in size. I think she was 40-50% when born... then 50, 60, 75... then 100. We were seeing a substitute doctor. She was alarmed. She freaked me out. I'd already googled large head and found associations between large head and autism. She wasn't concerned about that. She was concerned about macrocephaly being caused by hydrocephalus (excessive fluid in the brain or in the head creating pressure). Okay... Freak me out A LOT.
I read EVERYTHING. T had NO symptoms. Her fontanelle was closed and not bulging, her eyes were not being pushed down. She was having problems walking, and falling a lot, but SHE JUST LEARNED TO WALK 3 weeks ago. She's supposed to fall.
The most reassuring thing I read was "As a rule of thumb, a newborn's head is usually about 2 centimeters larger than the chest size. Between 6 months and 2 years, both measurements are about equal. After 2 years, the chest size becomes larger than the head." (That's on the page that describes macrocephaly.)
Her head and chest measured the same. I didn't talk to the doctor about that before the procedure because I felt like if we didn't do the procedure we'd always be wondering. I know there is risk of radiation exposure to a CT scan, but we felt like it was important to know. I feel terrible that we needlessly exposed our baby to radiation, but we do know now that she is not suffering from hydrocephaly and can relax a teeny bit now.
I read everything I could about CT and decided the best thing we could do would be to make it so she was still during the procedure. I got the appointment scheduled around her nap time. I gave her bendadryl (as the pediatrician recommended). My husband and I went to the appointment today and we got her asleep RIGHT as they called us back. It was hard transferring her to the table, (she wanted to be held) but once she was in position she stayed still during the CT and she slept the entire time. It didn't take very long.
Our exposure to the radiation was probably as minimal as we could have gotten it since she stayed still and they didn't have to do anything twice. We left and about 2 hours later the doctor called to tell me that her scan was normal. Whew. Big sigh of relief.
Brooke said all of things I'm feeling right now so eloquently. Nino picked up on the thought... It's so true. I love my girls and my life. I never forget how precious they are to me. I never take them forgranted. I sometimes blog about things that drive me crazy and poke fun of other things, but I do it because if I didn't... You'd all gag. I LOVE my little girls. I am so grateful that they are happy and healthy and trouble makers. I LOVE THEM. I love the fact that they challenge me. I love the fact that they are strong-willed. If I ever complain too much, tell me to suck it up. I am lucky. (All credit goes to Nino for that term.)
It's funny because her head does not look big. Everyone I've told about the large measurement is shocked... "Really," they ask? "She looks like she has a nice sized head. You don't think BIG HEAD when you see her."
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