MRI & CT Scan

Last 2 weeks Afif did MRI and CT scan. Purpose of this scan is to investigate Afif's ear structure and function, in case he needs cochlea implant.

We did the scan at UKM Specialist Center under Prof. Goh. i thought doing MRI and CT scan is simple; walk in to the hospital, sedate Afif and get him to sleep, do the scan and leave. Boy, was i wrong.

Because Afif is such an active little boy, Prof Goh said sedating him wouldn't be enough as he would probably wake up halfway through the procedure which is a complete NO as we need to be perfectly still during these scans. So Afif had to be under general anesthetic. In other word, complete knocked out under anesthetic. So we checked in at the hospital the day before the scan.

What's more challenging is that my husband is away and it was the first day of Ramadhan. Imagine dealing with an excited-to-be-in-a-new-place toddler alone and fasting at the same time. He didn't want to stay in our room. He walks all over the ward, demanding for elevator rides (we went up and down the lift a dozen times).. i can't even buy food for break fast. Thank God for the kind nurse who bought food for me.

 Kepenatan lepas nangis sebab tangan kene cucuk

 i'm bored, Mama..

Strike a pose

Afif's scan is scheduled at 9am next morning. He had to fast for 6 hours prior to that. That. Is. The. Hardest. Part. He is still breastfed and still wakes up 3-4 times a night. That morning, he's awoke at 5am (thanks to the nurse who insisted on taking his blood pressure.. Last-last tak valid pon bacaan) and refused to go back to sleep without being breastfed. He cried and cried. i tried distracting him but distraction didn't last long. He's too thirsty that he even tried to drink from mineral water bottle. Watching your child cries in hunger is the worst.

Before going to the Radiology Department. 

Dia macam tau-tau je orang nak buat something kat dia. 

Crying coz he wants milk.

The Procedure

After hours of denying my poor boy any food and drink, it's 9am. The procedure started at 9.30am. They put him to sleep ( a bit heartbreaking as he was crying and refusing to lay on the MRI bed. i had to hold him still while the medical people drugged him and watched as he slowly drift into sleep). All sorts of wires are attached to his body. Nak MRI je pon tapi macam kene major surgery je rupanya..

 Looking like Casper the Friendly Ghost

i managed to take this pic of him in the CT scan room

i was not allowed to be in the MRI and CT scan room so i waited outside. Thankfully, my sister in law came at around 11am. At around 11.30am, everything's done. We waited a few minutes for him to wake up. The doctor and medical team waited for him to wake up to make sure that he's okay. Then, we went back to our room and later that afternoon, discharged and went home.

Anxiously waiting for him.

The Results

After 2 weeks, we went to see Prof. Goh to know the findings of the scans. Using the scan images, she explains a bit about Afif's ears. Thankfully, both of Afif's cochlea (which is the main objective here) looks good and in normal shape. It means if he needs cochlea implant, it can be done without any complications. i asked about the cochlea hair cells that are not developed (which caused deafness) but that can't be seen from MRI. To see that you need micro-something and usually done for study purposes.

Prof Goh looks happy with the scan results. For now, Afif does not need implant as his progress using hearing aids are good. If in 6 months he does not show any improvement, only then we'll look into cochlea implant.