Our Sweet Gia: Gia's MRI and Results

Sent March 2, 2011

Hi Everyone,

We are exhausted... and our emotions are kind of numb.

Gia did great this morning.. only said 'I'm hungry' twice before the test. She was so sweet and a bit leery as we went in (I think she is beginning to recognize hospitals). I had asked the anesthesiologists if I could be with her while she goes under anesthesia, but they said no. I was kind of stubborn and kept asking why... telling them I'd really like for her to be calm when she went under, and not crying for us while they wheeled her into another room, etc. I got a lot more information from them by pressing this, more understanding from them - but they also seemed to accomodate us more. They ended up letting us wait just outside the room she was in for the MRI, I rode with her on the bed (she had already taken some medication that was making her very drowsy), so by the time they took her from me into the MRI room - I felt at peace being near her and she was calm. God is so good to ease my concerns there.

As soon as the scan was done we went in with her to the PACU room. She had a very hard time coming out of anesthesia. Screaming, throwing angry fits, etc... poor baby. That was hard. (Jeremiah lost it then) but she fell back asleep and little by little got back to her normal self. She will be cranky and tired today, they said.

After only about 20 minutes being home, I got the call from the Pediatrician's office. I was shocked to hear back so quick! The nurse was calling me to ask if I could come in to meet with our doctor to discuss results. My stomach sank. She asked if we could make it at 4pm. I asked if there was any way we could talk on the phone or see him sooner - and after asking - she told us to come over right away.

The good news: NO TUMORS.

The hard news: Gia has some brain abnormalities that were very visible on the scans. There are, what they call 'tubers' - small white spots in many areas of the brain. These are not tumors - but growths of some kind. There is also more white matter on the right side of her brain (visible clearly in the scan) which is also the same area that the EEG showed the seizure activity.

Our Pediatrician suspects it could be a genetic condition called Tuberous Sclerosis. The outlook varies greatly - from mild (children with overall normal health and mild seizures) to severe mental retardation. He currently sees a patient who has this condition and they have to routinely do scans to check on these tubers in her brain, to make sure they don't develop into a mass that needs to be removed.

We are sighing with relief that there is nothing to immediately fear - (tumor, cancer, etc) - yet still processing all of this hard information. It will be good to get more details on Saturday (we are being seen sooner at Children's Hospital!) when we talk to the Neurologist and get his diagnosis and opinion.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for all of your prayers and support.

I can see how clearly God has answered in giving us comfort... specifically in how quickly we found out. It could have been a long, agonizing day. Makes me think of the meaning of her name. Gia means 'God is gracious' in Italian. So thankful for His grace as we go through all of this.

We love you all and will keep you in the loop as we go...

Here are some pics from today.