Tuesday 7 December 2010

Toby's MRI day

Today was the day we have been working towards and practicing for, for a few months.  Today was the day Toby was to undergo an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan to hopefully eliminate other more serious possibilities for his dizziness.  After getting through peak hour traffic this morning to drive across Sydney to the Sydney Children's hospital at Randwick we made it in time for his appointment at 9.10am.  Toby was given a hospital gown to wear, to ensure no metal objects were on him to interfere with the MRI scanner, the gown was so big we had to wrap it around him.  Here he is in the waiting room with his choice of music to listen to while he had his scan. 


We had a bit of a wait before his scan and Donald wasn't even allowed to come in with us, not enough room they told us.  So in the little room we sat waiting.


When we finally went into the MRI room Toby was very ready, after much wondering, anticipation and preparation leading up to this moment, he bravely walked into the room with the giant doughnut shaped machine.  I lifted him up on to the bench and the MRI technicians covered Toby with a warmed blanket and arranged his head in the head rest.


The technician at first put some ear plugs in Toby's ears, as it's very noisy (MRI sound effects here) and then she realised that we had bought a Star Wars CD to listen to, Toby's choice, so she put some rather large headphones on him and started to play his music.  Then they put a mask like frame over his face as seen on the end of the table near Toby's feet.  Meanwhile Toby just lay there relaxed and listening to what was going on.  I had to take the photo's from outside of the MRI room otherwise it would interfere with my camera, not sure how though.


I am so proud of this little man, he lay there in his meditative state and didn't move a muscle for over 30 minutes of scanning.  The machine was thumping and whirring, Star Wars was playing and I was holding on to his warm little feet, watching every blink, confident that he was ok and had the preparation needed to cope with what most 5 year olds will never experience.  

This little angel is amazing and I am so proud of him and feel so blessed to have Toby in our lives.  He is a wonderful example to me and I am learning from him every day.


After my little angel got changed out of his wrap around gown, we went down to the playground to partake of the the wondrous surroundings the hospital has provided for children.  There is a beautiful playground filled with sculpted animals, musical instruments, plants and grasses, mosaics, climbing equipment and a wonky mirror.




These sculpted metal animals are dotted throughout the playground and are so realistic, I would love to have some in my garden for little fingers to discover.


I love this giant wombat carved from a huge tree.






On leaving the hospital we had to treat Toby to some....golden arches....


....and a Luke Skywalker figure, well deserved treats I must say.




PS. Fudge recipe coming up tomorrow sometime, stay tuned!!

3 comments:

Roger said...

Amazing work Toby - that is hard to do. When do you get the results?

Lisha said...

Not sure Kim his neurologist is overseas but will be back next week, so I guess we wait until then sometime. We didn't have an appointment as we didn't know how successful the scan would be.

Tania said...

What a brave little Toby, hope that the MRI shows up what is causing his dizziness, and that it is good news for all.