Today is the day

Today at noon James and I have to take Owen to have an MRI done of his lower back. About a month ago I took him to Duke Pediatric Dermatology to have a birthmark on his lower back checked out. The birthmark had changed since he was born so I was concerned. It turned into a much larger ordeal than just a birthmark. The doctor thinks that the birth mark is a "cutaneous marker" that is signaling a problem in the spinal cord. Dr. Bellett ordered an MRI to see if Owen has a tethered spinal cord. A tethered spinal cord is a neurological disorder caused by tissue attachments that limit the movement of the spinal cord within the spinal column. These attachments cause an abnormal stretching of the spinal cord. Since this is a progressive disorder it can go undiagnosed until adulthood. Early intervention is the key to preventing permanent damage and to prevent spinal cord deterioration.

As you can imagine James and I are both nervous about the whole process. The waiting has been awful! We are both ready to know what's going on with our little guy. We are both praying for good news today! I never understood until today how you could want to take someones place so much. I wish it was me that had to have the MRI. The poor little guy has to be sedated to have it done. How scary for him. He also has not been able to eat anything after 6 am this morning. He's starving! I wish it was me...

I wish it was me.. that's all I can think of. I know that there are children and parents out there that are dealing with far bigger things than this. But if one thing is universal it's that you never want to see your child sick, hurt, or sad. I pray that this is the absolute worse thing that we have to deal with and that we receive really good news today! Keep us in your thoughts today and hope for good news!