The Nilsen Nest: Scan update

Thank you for your faithfulness to pray! Our heavenly Father has heard us and has been so merciful to us!!

Ezra's scan went as perfect as it could go. We arrived at CMC NorthEast about 20 minutes before we had to. Ezra had been sleeping in the car but once we got out and started walking, he woke up. A very kind woman that must have been the manager of the Radiology department went around the lobby and asked if anyone needed anything; drinks etc. She gave me a sympathetic look as I was trying to rock Ezra to sleep and she asked if that was what I was doing. She let us know we would be called soon and our buzzer would go off that we were holding, kinda like the ones they give you when you're waiting for a table at a restaurant. I asked if when we got in there how long it would be before his scan and if I should swaddle him while waiting. She said we would only be in there just a couple minutes and that I could do it now if I thought best. About a minute after we wrapped him up, he was out. The manager lady came and got us when it was our turn and said she didn't want to set off the buzzer in case it woke him up. She took us back to the room and there was a foam rectangle with a little baby shape cut out for us to put him in. We carefully placed him in there and then the tech laid a big heavy hospital blanket on top of him. The CT scan machine looked like a big O and the little bed slid through the hole and rested in the middle of it. A big disk spun around real fast, it sounded like a big fan. E must have felt right at home since he sleeps with a fan in his room. He slept through the whole thing! What an amazing answer to prayer!! The tech came in to tell us it would be another minute for the Radiologist to approve the scans to see if they were clear enough and then we were done! The whole process was less than 5 minutes!

Steve and I had to stand and make sure he stayed still. He looked so sad lying there by himself, but so peaceful. When the tech came back to tell us she was waiting on the Radiologist, she closed the door behind her but we could still see her through a window and she kept frowning at the computer. I told Steve I knew something was wrong, she kept looking at the scans like something was definitely wrong. I started to cry and Steve did his best to hold and comfort me. I knew that the outcome of this 5 minutes could change our little boy's life forever. When we were finished, I asked the tech how long it usually took to hear back about the scan results and she said usually 2-3 days but the earliest would be the next day. At 5:25PM that afternoon, a nurse from the pediatrician's office called. She told me they had the results!! I was completely caught off guard. She went on to say that Ezra was fine, that the bones in his head were not growing together but that he had an extra bone in his head. She said he wouldn't need a follow up appointment for this but that the doctor would just check up on him at his next well visit. I was in total shock. I got off the phone and broke down and cried. So much relief and joy!!!! After I gave it a couple hours to sink in, I realized I had a lot of questions that needed to be answered. So I called and left a message for the pediatrician to call me the next day. She did and cleared up a couple things for me. The extra bone in his head is called a Wormian Bone. About 10% of all Caucasians have it, 40% Indian decent and 80% Chinese. In some cases, there can be some side effects. It could cause learning disabilities or it can lead to Brittle bone disease which is a disease that makes bones very easy to break. His doctor said he's developing great and there shouldn't be a concern right now but she said she'll measure his head at his next check up, when he'll be 4 months, and make sure his head is growing normally. I asked how we'd be able to know if the bones decided to grow together if the Wormian Bone was on top of the others and she said the sutures (other bones) were wide open and the soft spot, which is underneath the Wormian bone, would close in normal time. Another answer to prayer!

God had a much better plan and outcome for this situation than I had ever envisioned. The first huge blessing was that we had the scan done without sedation. The second was the amazing results of the scan. There may be more related to this that may come up in the future. But God will give us grace for that when that time comes. I've personally learned so much more about God, his personal love for me, Steve and the kids through this process. He's kindly and gently reminded me that His grace is ALWAYS sufficient, minute by minute each day. And that He provides the perfect amount of grace for that day and that the next day isn't worth worrying about. He's strengthened my faith so much just in this last week. He used this trying time to bring me closer to Him and challenged me to rely on Him more than anything. My dad asked if I would feel the same if the outcome hadn't been as good and I said I would hope so. I think so. I know this isn't the first time we've had to trust Him with our child's life and it definitely won't be the last. And as one of my mother in law's reminded me, we've got a boy now. There's going to probably be lots of scrapes, bumps, bruises and broken bones in his future :) May the Lord protect him and may we look to Him for our ultimate protection.