MRI and Doctor Update

     We visited MUSC on June 25th for Emersyn's MRI.  We felt Jesus' hand on us throughout the whole process and were thankful for all the outpouring acts of love and prayers that were shown to our family during this waiting period.  Her MRI was at 2:50pm and she could not have any solids after 6am that morning and no breast milk after 10am.  She did incredibly well stretching out her meals.  I was able to give her water and clear Pedialyte up until noon to keep her hydrated.  She also did great being put to sleep!  When we took her back, I laid her on the hospital bed with her blankie in hand and they allowed me to stay in there until she went to sleep.  She was not scared at all and did not cry until they put the gas mask on her.  I started singing her favorite song "Jesus Loves Me" while rubbing her sweet body and she was asleep within 30 seconds.  Mama and I sat in the waiting room during the MRI for a little over an hour along with my sweet friends Kathryn, Jennifer and Jennifer's baby, Grace.  They did an awesome job keeping us company and distracting my mind from worry.   Then Mama and I went to recovery and waited close to an hour for her to wake up.  When she woke, those big eyes opened and she sat straight up!!  She wanted to nurse immediately.  She had no nausea (answered prayer!!) and they told us she might not be herself for 24 hours.  We stayed that night at my friend Kathryn's house and my friend Jennifer, her daughter Grace, my mom, and Kathryn's husband were all there.  We tried to keep everything very low key for Emersyn to rest, but she WAS herself quickly!!  She wanted to play with Grace and was all over the place exploring the new home we were in :)  When Daniel arrived that evening after he got off work, she was excited to see and play with him too! 
     The next morning, we had an appointment with the neurologist at 8:15am to hear the results.  Daniel, Mama, Emersyn, and I went together, and when the doctor entered the room, he started asking all these questions like: When did your daughter first roll over?  Is she sitting unassisted now?  Is she crawling?  Was she born premature?  etc.  Then after about 5 minutes of questions, he said, "Well she doesn't have Sturge Weber."  I immediately said, "Praise God, and why didn't you tell us that when you first walked in the door!"  Haha!!  The suspense was killer!!  He said her brain looked perfectly normal, and he was surprised that she was even referred for an MRI.  He said he was expecting to open the door to the waiting room and see a child's face covered with the Port Wine Stain because those are usually the patients that are referred to him.  My first question was would we ever have to do the MRI again as she grows to check for Sturge Weber, and he said that she is clear forever that the syndrome would have shown up if she had it.  Praise God!!  Answered prayer!!  
     He also said that the Port Wine Stain on her face did not even show up on the MRI which means it is not very deep and is not affecting the size of her blood vessels.  Answered prayer!!  He even suggested that we hold off on the laser treatment until she is at least a year old because it could fade on its own.  Praise God, and a continued prayer request.  We left with a huge burden off of our hearts and were filled with thankfulness to the Great Physician who can heal all wounds.  I am now very educated on Port Wine Stain, Sturge Weber Syndrome, and the pros/cons of an infant having an MRI, but I am thankful the researching can be put on hold for a while!   
      We give God all the glory for Emersyn having a great report with a normal MRI, for having no side effects from being put to sleep, for being able to go longer than normal without food, for the hope that the Port Wine Stain may eventually fade away, and for blessing our lives with precious friends and family members who prayed for us, sent cards, gave us a place to stay while in Charleston for the appointments, and even sat with us while we waited at MUSC.   

Here are a few pictures from the visit...

 Sweet, happy Emersyn literally hours after her MRI.  She said nothing can hold her back :)  The purple bandage on her hand is wrapping where the IV was placed.

 At Kathryn's home with her friend Grace :)

 It was so sweet, Emersyn reached over and put her hand on Grace's shoulder for the pictures :)

 I gave her the right middle name (Joy) because she is full of Joy and loves life!

 Don't go Grace!!!

 That tongue!!

 College roommates, lifelong friends!

The second night, my parents' sweet friends Carole and Walt let us stay at their home.  Emersyn loved playing with their dogs!!  I hate I didn't get a picture of that though, but here she is the morning before we left.