Daddy Duty: Watching your child be sedated doesn't get easier

Tim Walters
Florida Today
Isabella sleeps peacefully after her sedation for an MRI last week.

When it comes to parenting, some days are better than others.

Last week, we had to take Isabella to Florida Hospital for an MRI.

It was a yearly follow-up from the surgery she had last year when she was 2 to remove a non-cancerous tumor on her spine.

The tumor, called a fibrolipoma, essentially is a mass that had grown over the lower discs of her spine. The fibrolipoma is not elastic, so as her spine grew, the tumor would not have expanded. It would have compressed her spine, crushing the nerves, and could have left her paralyzed from the waist down.

Daddy Duty columnist Tim Walters

Luckily, doctors discovered it while doing tests for a different illness. They successfully removed it and she has recovered wonderfully.

Unfortunately, Isabella has to have yearly MRIs until her body is fully grown, so roughly around age 18.

To do an MRI on a 3-year-old, doctors have to sedate her. I’ve written in the past about how awful it is to watch this done, but I haven’t written about the process of how it gets done, so I wanted to share that today.

I know a lot of parents have had to go through this, but for those who haven’t (and I pray you never do), it’s good to know what you could be getting into.

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Remember, I’m just telling you our experiences from Florida Hospital, so it could be different at other places.

They first try to make the little one as comfortable as possible.

They bring the mask out that will be used for the sedation so the child can see it. They then asked her what scent she likes, and they showed her several scented lip balms. Once she picked one, they let her smear it all inside the mask so it smells like that flavor.

Next, they brought her back to a private waiting room. To do so, a really nice lady led her with a “bubble parade,” where she marched down the hall blowing bubbles, and Isabella happily followed behind.

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Once she got to the waiting room, they asked her what kind of toys she likes. Isabella enthusiastically told her “Cars,” and they just happened to have a big Lightning McQueen toy from the Disney movie, “Cars.”

This kept her occupied while we awaited our turn.

When her turn came, they took her into a room where the doctor and several nurses were waiting.

The then reintroduced the mask that had the scented lip balm in it.

This is where it got tough.

They turned the gas on, and Isabella clearly remembered this from the prior sedations. She started to fight like a little bear.

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My wife held her tightly around the arms and chest while I held her legs, which were kicking like an angry mule.

The doctor securely held the mask over her face, and in about 15 seconds she was out. Her legs that had been kicking violently just went limp. My heart always sinks at that point. It seems like the longest 15 seconds of your life in that moment.

Once asleep, her breathing sounded strange and labored, but the doctor assured us it is normal. We’ve seen it several times before as she’s been sedated about a half dozen times, but it’s something you just don’t get used to.

We waited about an hour, and they came out to update us. They said everything went fine and we’d be able to see her in about 15 minutes.

She was soundly sleeping when we went back to see her. It took a little while before she was awake and cognizant, and the first thing they did was give her an ice pop. She groggily ate it, and after the doctors and nurses made sure she was able to keep it down, they were ready to discharge her.

Within just a few hours, she was back to her happy and playful self.

We’ll get the results of the test next week. We’re hoping her spine looks great and the fibrolipoma has not started to grow back. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

I’m not sure what age a child is able to lay steady for an MRI, but I know next year we’ll probably have to go through this process again.

It never gets easy, but it’s something that has to be done.

If you or someone in your family ever has to go through this, just assure them the doctors and nurses handling this are amazing and caring people, and you’ll make it through it.

It’s always going to be unnerving watching your child be sedated, but it’s also satisfying knowing you’re doing the right thing and that their health is the top priority. It might just help make this a little easier. Not much, but maybe a little.

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Walters can be reached at twalters@floridatoday.com