RyKeR UpDaTe

Ryker had a follow up with Dr.Coker on Thursday and it turned out to be a little more than we bargained for. I had noticed that over the last week Ryker's head drops had gotten worse and Dr. Coker had asked that we notify him right away with any changes. So I notified him on Wednesday afternoon and he scheduled for us to see him right away the next morning. Dr. Coker had asked to get another video of the head drops for him to see/evaluate. Once we got there and Dr. Coker took at look at the video he informed us that he felt as though the head drops had changed in appearance (he felt that he was holding the drop much longer than before), he informed us that with drops like this it can sometimes be caused by a cyst or tumor on the brain steam and asked to do an MRI. I had been dreading the thought of him wanting to do an MRI since we first starting seeing him do to the fact that we would have to sedate him for the scan. However, he stressed the importance of the scan and after much conversation between Kris and I we agreed to go ahead with it. So Dr. Coker admitted Ryker to the pediatric unit at CDH (we had his appointment at the Children's Hospital satellite office that is located at CDH). Once admitted, Ryker had to have nothing by mouth for 6 hours and they did not want him to nap (1 baby that nurses every 3 hours plus eats 3 meals a day plus takes 2 naps = you do the math), this turned out to be quite challenging but I have to admit Ryker did great considering the circumstances. CDH was wonderful with him and we had a child life specialist that come up and help keep him busy. They even brought in Maggie the hospital dog ( a huge golden retriever). Long story short, Ryker went into the MRI around 3:30 pm, (they had their own pediatric anesthesiologist that I had an in depth conversation with stressing my opinion on limiting as much of the sedation as possible), and he was out by4:30 and Dr. Coker called the room by 4:40 with the results. The MRI was NEGATIVE!!!!! Thank god, once again he was looking over us! Now where do we go from here? Dr. Coker still has not ruled out seizures but he would also like for us to see an Ears, Nose and Throat specialist at Children's to rule out migraine. Apparently, babies with migraines can present the same way (who new). In the mean time we continue to closely watch his development along with the frequency of the head drops. Anxiety is still running high not knowing the exact cause of these head drops, but we stay very hopeful that in the end it will turn out to be nothing at all.

Ryker being a little monkey at the hospital :) As you can see he really was in good spirits the entire day. We worked really hard to keep him entertained. He weighed 18 pounds 5 ounces and 24.5 inches long.

If you look closely at Ryker's face you can see that he may not be enjoying the bubbles as much as the child life specialist thought!

My poor, poor baby :(

Ryker kept telling all the nurse's and doctors "I don't know!"

Showing off his IV, his nurse did a GREAT job and got him the first time!

Giving me nose rubs :)

Yes, Ryker is walking! I didn't get to announce the good news yet, but Ryker started walking on his 9 month birthday.

After the MRI, waiting for him to wake up. I was so glad they gave him to us to hold while waiting for him to wake up from the sedation. The anesthesiologist told us that Ryker was blowing raspberries the whole time while sedated (the first she had ever seen).

Thank you Children's Hospital for taking such good care of my baby! Now please find us an answer.