DMSA Test One is Done!

Emma headed back to Johns Hopkins Hospital this morning for her first DMSA scan to test for kidney damage from her VUR/kidney infection and she did really well! It was a long day for her but considering she wasn't able to really have a good nap or eat anything after dinner last night, we couldn't have asked for more. We left bright and early at 7:30AM which was good since we weren't allowed to give her anything but clear liquids until the test, so by 7:30AM she was already getting a little cranky. After checking in, having Emma get checked out, they started the IV which really was the worst part of the entire process. At that time, maybe about 9:00AM or so, they started to inject the radioactive material that attaches itself to Emma's kidneys to allow for the scan. We then had to wait just about an hour (for the medicine to be able to get to her kidneys) so we walked around the amazing hospital and grabbed something to drink. Things started a little bit later than expected but we headed back into the room about 10:30AM to start the sedation. Just like in the VCUG test, the little stinker was making those poor nurses work for their paychecks and she just kept fighting the sedation. After about 20 minutes she finally gave in and they could start the test.

Of course, Emma wasn't going to go down that easy though, so exactly half way into the test, those baby blue eyes popped right open to everyone's surprise!! The nurses were pretty surprised that she woke up with the amount of sedation that she was given, so they gave her pretty much the rest of the dose that they could, and given another 15 minutes she was back out and they were able to finish the last part of the test. She then woke up the minute that she was being brought out of the machine! The nurses were kind of chuckling about how she was able to fight off that much sedation and they said that it can actually be linked to alcohol tolerance, so it looks like our little baby is ready for college already haha!


Emma was incredibly hungry after the test so we went downstairs to the cafeteria for some lunch (which was taken care of for us since we joined the study) and Emma was hilarious. She was "talking" to every person around her and looked like a little bobble head doll! She drank 8 ounces of water, 6 ounces of formula, blueberries, strawberries, cheerios, some bites of mommy's bread and some of the nurse's pizza. :) So much for the eating strike! I think she was yelling the entire walk from lunch to the car, including the two elevator rides!

It was pretty funny actually when she got home because of how crazy she was (which was a side affect of the sedation). It very much helped me get through the day though because I had pretty much hit my breaking point from having to hold her down screaming for these tests. I couldn't help but shed a few tears for my poor peanut during the IV, so her being crazy and hilarious when we got home was actually a big relief!

We should get the results from the test tomorrow, so hopefully we will have good news (no kidney damage) to share!

For now, here is a little taste of what life was like with our little drunken sailor this afternoon. Keep in mind that this was abotu 5 hours after coming out of sedation, after two big meals and a two hour nap. So you can imagine how funny lunch was. :)