Ultrasound Day

Tuesday started off a bit earlier than usual. HMae had an appointment in Templeton at 7:45am. in the past her ultrasounds are done at CHLA but I requested that we be able to do them locally due to fact that it is way more convenient. Ultrasounds occur every three months in HMae's life and they will continue that way until she is 10 years old. At ten they will decrease in frequency to every six months. I must admit that although it is terribly inconvenient to pack up life and drive five hours to CHLA just for an ultrasound I truly appreciate the mere fact that their techs are familiar with kids. They have a way of making it so much easier on the little one. They have cartoons which is a major distraction from the warm icky jelly being smeared all over the belly. And a box full of fun toys that mom would never let enter this household due to their repetitive nature of horrible sounds. For example, that toy, you know the one, it's just a little can with pictures of barnyard animals on it. You flip it over and it moos, not just any moo but a long, drawn out moo. Similar moos come from mama cows giving birth to their calf. Yes, it would never enter this house. Only because I would find myself at 3 am digging through the toy bin in the dark to search and destroy the MOO that just wont stop mooing! Back to the point... they are prepared. They know how to keep the little one still long enough to capture the pictures they need. It's no easy feat trust me!
Even without all the fancy toys we managed to survive HMae's ultrasound. Did I mention we had to bring along brother! The Hubs had a work commitment and couldn't stay back for Koen this day but I decided to be brave and manage by myself. Would you believe he was perfect the entire time. He is starting to pick up on the fact that his little sister has to spend lots of time with medical staff. He knows he has to be brave when we go to the pediatrician's office. In the past going to Dr. P's was an event! He would refuse any weighing, measuring, and examining. Since going with HMae and seeing how upset she gets when doctors and nurses have to do their thing, I think he knows it's his turn to be brave so that he can show her everything is going to be ok. At first, I was reluctant to take him along. I wasn't sure how he would react to all of it and I didn't want to cause any more trauma for anyone. But I am starting to realize that these two are buddies. He is her real-life superhero. I think that on this Tuesday he comforted her. Just knowing he was there eased her anxiety. He sat quietly in the stroller playing with his little toy fire engine saying things like "Hey Sissy, Look fire truck!" and "I see your belly pictures!" The very inquisitive two year old is constantly asking where are we going? What are we doing? I didn't know how to explain it any other way than to tell him we were going to have the doctors take pictures of the inside of HMae's belly. Having this conversation with him got me thinking... how in the world will I explain all of this to her when she is able to understand. I'm selfish. I don't want her to have to feel different from anyone else. It's a good thing I have some time to plan. For now she is perfectly satisfied with the MOOing can and her superhero of a big brother.

P.s. Her ultrasound showed no changes. The kidneys and ureters are still enlarged. She is free of tumors and other abnormalites at this point in time.

Much love,
Melissa Hughes