Last week at the boys' 9 month appointment, our pediatrician suggested we get a head ultrasound for Nolan since his head had grown so rapidly in such a short time. She wanted to make sure he didn't have hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). So we scheduled an appointment for him at Children's Mercy. Fortunately, it's not very hard to get into radiology and we were able to be seen on Tuesday.
James came home early to watch the other two boys while I took Nolan to his appointment. I have to say, one thing I miss a little about Ollie's helmet, was that we always had that one-on-one time whenever I would take him to his helmet appointments. This appointment for Nolan was the first time he and I have ever gone anywhere just the two of us. And honestly, that part of it all, was kind of nice.
The ultrasound went just fine. I had debated on taking him into the hospital in his stroller or in his infant carrier. I ended up going with the infant carrier only because we were running a little bit late and I didn't really have time to get the stroller out of the back of the van. It ended up being a good choice, because the ultrasound tech just had him stay in his car seat while she did the scans. My job was to try to keep him relatively still. So of course I sang to him. What can I say, the kid loves The Sound of Music. They ended up getting about 50 pictures of his beautiful brain and he did a fabulous job. When she was done she told me, "Okay, we got what we needed. You're free to go!" I was like, "Um...does my kid have hydrocephalus?" She told me they would send the results to my doctors office who would then call me the next day.
So then the next day rolls around and, of course, all I can think of all day is his head scan. Every time my phone would ring, I would grab it quickly, only to be disappointed that a friend or family member was calling. Finally around 3:30, I called my doctors office to find out why I hadn't yet heard from them. They said they hadn't received the results, so I then called Children's Mercy. The woman I talked to said results are sent within 24 hours. Since my appointment was at 5:00 the day before, it was possible my results wouldn't be sent until 5:00. This made me want to cry, as my doctors office closes at 5:00 and I really didn't want to have to wait another day to find out what was going on.
Fast forward to the following day (Thursday). I still hadn't heard from anyone by 11:00 AM, so I called my doctors office and asked if the results had been received. They left a message with the nurses who then called me back and told me they didn't have them. Ugh! At this point, I was beyond frustrated. I called Children's Mercy and they said they would be sent within the next 30 minutes. So then finally around 2:30 my doctor called. She wasn't even in the office that day, but because she's awesome and knows how much of a worry-wart mama I am, she made some phone calls to let me know his results. This just reaffirms how much I love her.
Anyway, this is what our doctor told us. It's going to sound a little scientific. Nolan does not have hydrocephalus, though he does have excess fluid on the brain causing the enlargement in his head. She defined it as macrocephalus, which literally translates to "large head". The difference is that with hydrocephalus, the build up of fluid is located in the ventricles (innermost section) of the brain. This can be harmful and cause developmental delays. Treatment generally includes having a shunt surgically inserted into the head to drain the fluid. In Nolan's situation, the fluid is located on the outer subarachnoid space and is completely benign. No shunt is needed. Rather, the issue should resolve itself by the time he's two. So basically, he's going to be just fine...which is exactly what this anxious mama needed to hear!
