... you can't make me!
Emma was back at CHEO today for another swallow study to evaluate her aspiration risk (to see if food or liquid is entering her airway, a potential risk related to her paralyzed vocal cord).
In a Modified Barium Swallow Study, moving x-rays are used to take pictures of a child’s swallow. The child sits in a special support chair and is given foods or liquids that are mixed with barium, a substance which outlines the structures inside the mouth and throat so they can be viewed by x-rays. Barium is a dry, white, chalky, metallic powder that is mixed with water to make a thick, milkshake-like drink.
Emma has had a couple of these tests before, but both times she was an infant and tolerated the procedures very well. Now that she's a "big girl", things did not go so smoothly.
Firstly, Emma was not supposed to eat anything after midnight. Now, for a baby, that is a really long time to go without food. Then, the test was unexpectedly delayed and we were left to wander the halls of CHEO - with Emma in her stroller - for more than half an hour after our appointment time (mostly because it's still RSV season and Mommy is paranoid about exposing Emma to germs/viruses from the other kids in the waiting room). By the time we got into the x-ray suite and everything was set up, Emma had not eaten in over 15 hours and was, as you might imagine, not her usual happy self. Actually, I thought she did really well as she still managed to smile and play with the Occupational Therapist who was helping with the test. I surely would have been a whole lot crankier if I hadn't eaten in that long!
Emma eagerly took two spoonfuls of her apple sauce-mixed-with-barium, promptly spit them out, and made a face similar to this:
Then, we offered her bottle filled with the vile barium solution. Emma gently moved it away from her mouth, shaking her head as if to politely say "no thank you." We offered it again. She, a little less politely, swatted the offending bottle away, more vehemently shaking her head. The third time it was offered, Emma threw the bottle, shook her head, and added a "no no no no no no no" in case we hadn't figured out that she'd rather not have any, thankyouverymuch.
No matter how we tried, Emma refused to take another bite/sip. And we all ended up covered in barium which, by the way, has the appearance, consistency, and staying power of Liquid Paper correction fluid. Emma had it all over her face and hands and in her hair. Tonight, I even found some in her ears. Unfortunately very little actually got into her mouth, much less her throat, so the radiologist wasn't able to see if she was aspirating when she swallows.
We'll probably have to repeat the test again, but I think we'll wait for a while. It's hard to see Emma's face looking like this:
when we're more used to seeing a happy, smiling baby:
In a Modified Barium Swallow Study, moving x-rays are used to take pictures of a child’s swallow. The child sits in a special support chair and is given foods or liquids that are mixed with barium, a substance which outlines the structures inside the mouth and throat so they can be viewed by x-rays. Barium is a dry, white, chalky, metallic powder that is mixed with water to make a thick, milkshake-like drink.
Emma has had a couple of these tests before, but both times she was an infant and tolerated the procedures very well. Now that she's a "big girl", things did not go so smoothly.
Firstly, Emma was not supposed to eat anything after midnight. Now, for a baby, that is a really long time to go without food. Then, the test was unexpectedly delayed and we were left to wander the halls of CHEO - with Emma in her stroller - for more than half an hour after our appointment time (mostly because it's still RSV season and Mommy is paranoid about exposing Emma to germs/viruses from the other kids in the waiting room). By the time we got into the x-ray suite and everything was set up, Emma had not eaten in over 15 hours and was, as you might imagine, not her usual happy self. Actually, I thought she did really well as she still managed to smile and play with the Occupational Therapist who was helping with the test. I surely would have been a whole lot crankier if I hadn't eaten in that long!
Emma eagerly took two spoonfuls of her apple sauce-mixed-with-barium, promptly spit them out, and made a face similar to this:
Then, we offered her bottle filled with the vile barium solution. Emma gently moved it away from her mouth, shaking her head as if to politely say "no thank you." We offered it again. She, a little less politely, swatted the offending bottle away, more vehemently shaking her head. The third time it was offered, Emma threw the bottle, shook her head, and added a "no no no no no no no" in case we hadn't figured out that she'd rather not have any, thankyouverymuch.
No matter how we tried, Emma refused to take another bite/sip. And we all ended up covered in barium which, by the way, has the appearance, consistency, and staying power of Liquid Paper correction fluid. Emma had it all over her face and hands and in her hair. Tonight, I even found some in her ears. Unfortunately very little actually got into her mouth, much less her throat, so the radiologist wasn't able to see if she was aspirating when she swallows.
We'll probably have to repeat the test again, but I think we'll wait for a while. It's hard to see Emma's face looking like this:
when we're more used to seeing a happy, smiling baby:
posted by Laurie at 22:31
3 Comments:
I don't think I could swollow that stuff let alone a baby. Isn't there any other way to do that test?
Poor sweetheart.
Hugs
I've had to swallow that crap!
Dear Emma - I feel your ick.
Been there too. How aweful that they haven't found another way for kids to do this test. That barium is just disgusting. And the fact that she went through all the not eating and you would have to do it again, yikes.
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