An MRI Day in the Life of The Slayer

It was that time again–the time we’ve become accustomed to every 3 months. Jordan went in her for her quarterly MRI scans. It was a good day and her scans were stable; no new growth as far as we can tell.

The picture above captures the essence of MRI day. It’s a lot of waiting, so we all bring devices to keep ourselves occupied. Just a few minutes after this photo was caught, however, Jordan had a very large seizure in the waiting room. It was of the variety that she can feel coming on, causing her so much anxiety and anguish that it’s truly heartbreaking for us to watch. Today, she even let out a feeble scream seconds before her face contorted and her eyes went vacant. She was fine enough soon, but ready to rest. Good thing she would be taking a 2.5 hour propofol-induced nap while the MRI recorded the status of her brain.

Even after bouncing back from a seizure, Jordan reminded us that she’s a pro at the pre-op process. I can’t help but think back to 10 years ago when she was so much younger and much less cooperative. Getting her accessed was a chore. She often had to be physically restrained as the nurses attempted to give her the IV. Today, she impresses them all with her calmness and her gentility. Some of the nurses call her “the champion.” She likes that. A lot.

It usually takes Jordan quite awhile to wake up after the extended period of time she’s anesthetized. We found her sleeping peacefully in post-op, but she surprised us today by waking up pretty quickly and with little fuss.

I don’t think I’ve ever properly introduced you to Delilah. Delilah is Jordan’s sleep buddy. She is even allowed to sleep in the MRI with Jordan. I lay her down next to The Slayer before I give her a pre-sedation kiss. Delilah is a hero, too.

After the procedure, there’s a lot more waiting. We wait for Jordan to wake up and be alert enough to drink some fluids. Then we wait for her to go through triage at the clinic. And finally, we wait to meet with the oncology team to hear the test results. Those iPads get a lot of use during all the waits.

 

Though her eyes may look a little sorrowful in this picture, she was actually in very good spirits. She was hungry and tired. But she waited patiently and allowed me to photograph her while we prepared to finish up and go home.