MRI - Jan 2023

Isaac had his most recent MRI recently.  Good news is that everything was STABLE!! Isaac was a champ and did fantastic for all 5 appointments scheduled. :-)

Here is a recent picture of Isaac

MRI - January 23, 2022

Isaac is scheduled to have his next check up at the University of Iowa on Monday, January 23. This will mark the first time we've ever spread out these appointments to 1 full year!! He will begin the day with an 8am check in and his MRI should begin around 9am. After this test, we will have 3 additional appointments (oncology, neurology, and audiology). Should be a full day in Iowa City. :-)

We are praying for:

- Isaac will lie still during his scans so they can get good crisp images. We are trying to do it without sedation. It's over an hour MRI so obviously this has its challenges for an energetic 9 yr old boy

- good, stable scan results

- good communication with the various doctors we meet with after

- peace for Nick and I as we await results

Thanks for praying for our strong courageous boy.

MRI- Jan 6, 2022

Catch up post: 

Isaac had his MRI on Jan 6 2022. When we left the house that morning Isaac mentioned he had a headache but seemed fine otherwise. However when we got checked into the hospital for his MRI ww discovered Isaac now had a fever which caused some things to change. Due to his fever they were unable to administer anesthesia.  Thus, they suggested he try (for the very first time) to do an MRI with NO sedation. Overall Isaac did well, although we did have to redo a few segment of images again as Isaac would move (or laugh at the video he was getting to watch). The MRI is over an hour long so this was a very long time to hold perfectly still. I was very proud on how he did, especially while not feeling well. 

His MRI results were stable which was a huge praise!!

Thru blood work they were already taking that day, we discovered Isaac actually had Covid even though the previous day he was tested (per hospital protocol) and was negative. 🤦‍♀️ ha ha

MRI - March 15

 March 15:

Update - Isaac did great at yesterday's appointment and I am happy to report that his results were also great.  His tumor remains stable and his oncologist said he can now start coming once a year (instead of every 6 month)!! This is wonderful news for us all!! So overall we are very happy with results. 

He has one more trip to Iowa City on Friday to review the Xrays he got yesterday.  I'm hopeful the appointment will go well. 

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for Isaac and for reaching out to us. We are always so thankful for our community of great friends and family.  😁

March 14:

Its that time again... Isaac has his next MRI tomorrow. So today we drove Isaac down to the University of Iowa to get his Covid test (hospital policy for MRIs). Unfortunately for Isaac he had just gotten a Covid Test a few weeks ago when we were on vacation (in order to travel back to the US). That one didn't go great so Isaac was pretty anxious about the test today.  Overall he did good though. He definitely needed some help from mom and dad holding him down and talking him through it (and maybe a sizeable bribe 😉 to follow) but he finally let the nurse swab his nose and he did it without kicking. Just a some tears and maybe a little screaming.  We even made it back to CR in time for church and considering it was Day Light Savings we considered it a win. 

Tomorrow I will head back to Iowa City with Isaac for his next MRI. It's been a little over 7 months since his last one. Check in is at 10:20 with a 11:50 MRI and XRays and an appt with his oncologist later that afternoon. We are hoping and praying for good results also for safe travel as we are suppose to get some winter weather. Then on Friday we will head back for the 3rd time this week to the U for one more appt with the neuro dept. So lots of tracking back and forth this week but I am so thankful we are now back in CR and closer to the Children's Hospital. 

As always we appreciate you coming along side us and praying for Isaac.  

Above is a recent picture of Mr. Isaac while we were vacationing in the Dominican. 

MRI - Jul 29

July 29, 2020

Isaac had another MRI today. It was amazing to see how much more comfortable he was today even compared to his last one (8 months ago). With all the new Covid restrictions they would only allow 1 parent to come with so mom went along while dad stayed at home with the 2 girls. 

It was the first time Isaac went back to get sedated without mom by his side (another covid restriction 🙄). Mom didn't love that but according to the anesthesiologist Isaac did amazing with the mask and sedation. I was told he was very agreeable and didn't put up a fuss when he smelt the smelly gas. This was an improvement!

Isaac got XRays after his MRI. Results for XRays will come in a few days. 

His normal oncologist was out this week so we met with a different doctor. Prelim results were favorable from the MRI. The doctor actually said it looked like Isaac's actual tumor decreased in size which is AMAZING!! There is a cystic component though that appeared to increase in size however. So that is not great but this particular doctor didn't seem too concerned.  So we are cautiously optimistic but will be eager to hear from his normal oncologist and to hear the final reading of the MRI.  

As always we are so thankful to you all for keeping Isaac in your prayers. 

Here is Isaac at the Herky Hospital this morning at age 6 (& 3/4 as Isaac would say). 😉

Update:

I spoke with Isaac's normal oncologist this afternoon and she agreed with prelim results. Isaac will be back in 6 months. 💙

MRI - Nov 12th

Results:

MRI Results:

Overall Isaac's MRI results are good.  His tumor is stable, which is great! There is one area that we need to investigate further as there was some changes/slight growth. It may be a cyst or it may be post treatment changes, TBD still.  With that said we have to go back for another MRI in another 4 months to make sure this area hasn't grown any more due to the vital location.

But like I said overall we are very thankful. Thanks for praying. 

Isaac's oncologist was happy with results as well but thought it best if one of the neuro surgeons at Iowa also reviewed Isaac's MRI scans (because of the pain he was feeling in his neck was still not explained).  So on Wednesday I got a call from the U asking us to come back the following day for a CT scan and Xrays. So back to Iowa we went on Thursday. Side note, we are so blessed to now live closer to Iowa City, it made the last minute trip a lot easier. My mom was able to meet us there to help with the girls while Isaac had the appointments (it takes a village, and we ate so grateful for our families to always step in and help). After his 2 tests we met with a neuro surgeon who reviewed everything with us. Nick and I were thinking this meeting would last only a few minutes but we probably spent close to an hour with this guy and learned a lot. 

Long story short, we discovered that Isaac has 2 vertebrae that have been fused together. Also when Isaac had that brain surgery (~5yrs ago) they had to remove 1 and 1/2 vertebrae and remove a portion of the skull bone (just as a point of entrance to do the surgery). Anyways, the combination of this along with the location of his tumor (being not only on the brain stem but also in the spinal cord) makes it more dangerous for Isaac to get seriously injured in this area. So the doctor told us we needed to restrict Isaac from a number of sports and activities. Examples are no wrestling, no football, no trampolines, no rollercoasters, no cartwheels, and no ninja class. 

This was pretty hard news to break to Isaac. He had to quit his ninja warrior class that he's been doing for the past 7ish months (and absolutely loves). We told him he can no longer do trampolines. This was also pretty upsetting as we have one in our backyard. We have yet to explain all the ramifications.  His little heart could only take so much. There were a lot of tears that night. But we know Isaac will find new passions and we just need to explore different types of sports and activities. We are thankful that we discovered this before something happened. 

Because of Isaac's unique situation the doctor wanted Isaac to come back every 6 months for Xrays. 

Nov 12 Update

Isaac is scheduled for another MRI on Tuesday, Nov 12th. Orginally he wasn't due for one until January; however, we are proactively moving it up 2 months as Isaac had been complaining of neck pain the past few weeks.  After mentioning it to Isaac's oncologist at Iowa she thought it's best if we get it checked out sooner than later. Nick and I agreed so here we are. 

With Isaac's tumor located on the brain stem/spinal cord we have to be hypersensitive to any new aches and pains in this region. We are desperately hoping and praying that it's nothing but regardless we know that God is good and we are trusting Him in this. As always appreciate your prayers. 

This picture was taken a week ago when we visited the St Louis Zoo. Isaac was enjoying a fancy Hot Chocolate 😊

MRI

July 16th Update:

Prayers for this big boy! Mr. Isaac has his next MRI schedule for Wednesday, July 17th. Check-in is bright and early at 6:30 am with the procedure at 7:30. Then we will have 2 other medical appointments later in the day. 

Isaac is now 5 and 3/4 (as he likes to add). He is loving summer and is staying busy with swimming lessons, baseball, and ninja class.

It's been 6 months since his last MRI.  This is the first time we've gone this long between MRIs. We are hopeful that this one will go smoothly. Unfortunately Nick had to be out of town for work so Mima and Papa will meet me in Iowa City for the appointments and to help with the 2 girls. So appreciate that. Not sure I'd manage very well tomorrow without their help. 😉