MRI Results

We heard from the nurse at the neurosurgeon's office tonight. The MRI results are in, and Nolan is recovering well from his fall. The three hemorrhages have dissolved (been absorbed by his brain matter). The skull will need more time to heal, probably two to three months so that the bones can fuse back together. The arachnoid cyst is there, and it is stable. It is not a tumor or cancer. It is something that Nolan was born with and will have for the rest of his life. As the neurosurgeon said, he or I could have a cyst and not know it because we do not have CT scans. But, since Nolan is a baby and we know about it, we have to monitor it. A small percentage of arachnoid cysts grow, a small amount get smaller, and most of them stay the same size. It would become an issue if the cyst grew in Nolan's brain. We have a follow-up appointment with the neurosurgeons in May, and Nolan will most likely have another MRI in six months and then every year for a few years. The doctors will study and measure the cyst to determine if there is a change in size, etc. It may be a blessing that Nolan fell last Friday because now we know about the arachnoid cyst that was only visible on CT scans and the MRI. Thanks again for the great prayers, thoughts, good wishes, phone calls, emails and cards. We are very lucky to be have such caring people in our lives. Nolan is such a brave, strong baby who is doing very well. We will be extra careful with his head for a long time, and we certainly learned to always use the brakes on our strollers!

MRI Day

Nolan had his MRI on Tuesday. We have not received any results yet. He did extremely well. We had to wake up Nolan at 4:30 a.m. to give him a bottle. He could not have another bottle until about 2:00 p.m. That was the hardest part since Nolan LOVES his bottles! We kept him amused all morning so that he would not think about eating. The doctor gave Nolan gas to fall asleep before starting the IV. It took two pokes before finding a good vein for the IV. We were able to give Nolan some water when he woke up after being sedated. He recovered well and is acting very appropriately. We will let everyone know when we receive our results...hopefully we will hear from the doctor soon!

Mommy giving Nolan his bottle after the MRI...he was soooo hungry!

Nolan and Daddy relaxing at home
Nolan with his band-aid...his IV was in his left arm this time. Nolan is such a brave little boy!
Nolan wore his White Sox jammies to bed. He is such a big Sox fan!

Shades

We went to Pops and MoMo's house for dinner on Monday night. Aunt Maura had just returned home from her vacation in Florida, and she wanted to see Nolan after his accident. Nolan wore his new shades...he looks so cool!

He also loves drinking water out of a cup...
Nolan gets so excited and loves every sip of water!

Cousin Henry's Baptism

Nolan was discharged from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. His cousin, Henry Lecauchois, was baptized on Sunday. So, we went to the celebration at Henry's house after we settled in from our long weekend. Nolan slept through much of the party but was excited to see his relatives when he finally woke up!

Nolan before we left for the party

Pops, Liam, Nora, Grace, Henry, Noni, Nolan and Caitlin
Daddy, Nolan, Henry and Pops
Cousin Steve Doherty and Nolan had the same blue and white seersucker pants on...they are both so fashionable and have great taste!

Our Little Patient

Nolan went for a walk on Friday afternoon. Daddy turned to open our side door to get the garage door opener, and the stroller rolled backwards down our driveway. The stroller tipped over, and Daddy dove across the sidewalk to save Nolan. He was still strapped in the stroller, but the right side of his body scraped the sidewalk. Nolan immediately screamed and then fell fast asleep. We were getting ready to go to Noni's house for dinner, so we changed Nolan's diaper. He had his hat on during the fall, and when he was laying down to get his diaper changed, we noticed a bump on his head. We decided to have MoMo look at Nolan to see if she thought he was okay. In the short car ride to MoMo's house, Nolan was gagging and throwing up which told us that he was not okay. We took Nolan to the ER at Christ Hospital. He had a CT scan which showed a skull fracture. So, they admitted Nolan to the pediatric ICU to monitor him overnight. The diagnosis was a linear frontal temporal bone skull fracture on the right side. They wanted to do another CT scan 12 hours later to determine if there was any bleeding in the brain. We worked with a wonderful neurosurgeon, Dr. Hahn, who was terrific. The second CT scan was done at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. That scan showed three dots which are hemorrhages and an incidental finding of an arachnoid cyst on the left side of Nolan's brain. The cyst is believed to have been there since birth. But, now that we know about it, the doctors want to monitor it. Dr. Hahn wanted Nolan to have an MRI with and without contrast to get a closer look at the spots and cyst. We were discharged on Sunday. Nolan was going to stay in the hospital until the MRI on Tuesday, but the doctors decided that they did not want him to get sick from being in the hospital since there are so many germs and sick babies. So, we were able to go home and go back for the MRI on Tuesday. They scheduled it for Tuesday because that is when the pediatric anesthesiologists are in the hospital. Nolan was such a trooper during his hospital stay. The only time he cried was when the IV was going in. The nurses had a difficult time finding Nolan's veins, so it took three tries. A special transport team came in and finally got the IV in his right hand. Nolan was so good in the hospital, despite the checking, poking, monitoring, etc. during the days and nights. The doctors and nurses loved Nolan because he always smiled and laughed when they came in the room. They told us that most of their patients cry, so Nolan was a breath of fresh air! They loved his legs, too! Nolan had his MRI on Tuesday, and we have not received any results yet. We will let everyone know when we hear back from the doctor. Thanks for the thoughts, prayers and good wishes during our rough time. Please continue praying that all goes well with Nolan. His temperament is great...he is very happy and continues to eat well. These are great signs that keep us hopeful. We have to be very careful with Nolan's head for a long time. His head injury could take two to three months to heal. We will be following up with the doctor to monitor Nolan's progress. There are lots of cute pictures from the hospital. Nolan looked adorable in his hospital gown. We hope everyone learns a lesson from our accident: always put the brakes on your strollers! Our jogger stroller that rolled was the exact same Baby Trend jogger stroller that the baby was in at Belmont Harbor (with his grandfather). Both accidents happened on Friday with the windy day. Enjoy the pictures of our little patient!

Nolan in the ER waiting to go for his CT scan

Daddy and Nolan in the ER
Nolan finally fell asleep after his CT scan while waiting to be admitted to ICU
Daddy, Nolan and Mommy after the IV was put into Nolan's right hand...our eyes were all tired from lots of tears!
Nolan and Mommy...he tried to suck his right thumb, even with the IV!
Nolan sleeping in the ICU
Nolan's leg with the blood pressure cuff and the oxygen read on his toe...his legs were the talk of the hospital!
Nolan's nurse brought him a "busy box" toy...he loved it!
A close-up of Nolan's IV...and a glimpse of his leg!
Nolan was transported to his CT scan on Saturday morning in a Radio Flyer wagon...he is the king!
Nolan resting in the ICU
Mommy and Nolan in the ICU
Nolan was hooked up to lots of monitors.
Another view of Nolan's IV
Nolan often pulled his hospital gown up while he was resting.
Nolan sitting up in his hospital crib
Nolan relaxing in the recliner
This is a full view of Nolan in his gown...he is so little and looked so cute!
Nolan...the happiest patient!
Nolan kept trying to eat his IV tubes, so we put his jammies on and pulled the sleeve over the IV.
Mommy and Nolan outside in the garden at Hope Children's Hospital
Daddy and Nolan at the big fish tank in the hospital
Nolan is ready to go home. He was transported out to the car in a wagon! Nolan's first wagon ride was in the hospital!
Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers. We are lucky to have so many people thinking about us, including the wonderful nurses, doctors and staff members at the hospital!

Zoo!

Nolan went to Brookfield Zoo for the first time on Tuesday. He loved it! He went with his friends Isabella, Luke and Will (and their mommies, too)! We had such a fun day seeing the animals and hanging out with our friends. We can't wait to go back to the zoo!

Isabella getting a ride in her safari wagon

Nolan getting ready to see the animals
Will chilling out with his cool shades
Luke with his mom, Suzi
Nolan and Mommy with a giraffe
Luke and Isabella...and their shadows!
The whole group...Nolan, Mommy, Luke, Suzi, Will, Isabella and Heather

Will and Nolan...the stroller buddies!
Nolan and Mommy
The four friends...Nolan, Isabella, Luke and Will
Pops and Uncle Colin came over for dinner after our fun day at the zoo. They helped Nolan put on his jammies to get ready for bed!

Cereal and More

Nolan decided to try plain rice cereal again, and he liked it. Hmmm...a few weeks make such a difference!

So happy to be eating cereal!
Nolan even decided to help Mommy hold the spoon!
He needed a sip of water to wash down his cereal.
Nolan has been watching us drink water out of cups and decided that he wanted to try. He likes it so much!
But, he gets really wet when some of the water doesn't make it into his mouth. So, we took his wet clothes off before putting on jammies. Nolan loves to touch his stomach!
He went on Daddy's shoulders for the first time!
Nolan flexed his muscles...what a physique!
Daddy's big hand and Nolan's little hand...so sweet!
Daddy and Nolan were hanging out before going to bed!