May 12, 2011

Various appointments at SickKids today and we started off the Cardiac Echo at 08:30, followed by an abdomen ultrasound at 10:30. Even though we didn’t finish the scans until noon, both tests were easy and painless while Adrian was entertained by different TV/movies.

Met with Dr Baruchel at 12:45 going over results from the latest MIBG Scan as well as the ultrasound Adrian just had. What a relief to know everything is normal with no evidence of disease. The ultrasound and urine test will repeat in 6 months’ time and we’ll see doc again in Nov 2011. They collected Adrian’s urine sample again to check the HVA/VMA reading this time.

@ Cardiac Echo


@ Ultrasound after the scan, waiting for technician to show results to doc.


Next came the appt at Audiology at 13:00 for Adrian’s hearing test. It’s been a year since Adrian last had his hearing test (he missed the last one several months ago) and so being a year older – the audiologist used a different (yet similar) test for Adrian this time. The result showed that Adrian’s hearing has gone a little worse than before and the audiologist had to reprogram his hearing aids with the new audiogram. Then we were off to the hearing aids centre (just a block away) for new ear moulds as Adrian outgrew his, but we got sent back to SickKids because both his ears needed to be flushed (with lots of ear wax) in order to make new ear moulds. So there we were going back and forth and it was almost 4pm when we finished everything.

We’ve accomplished lots spending the day at SickKids today. Adrian did NOT get any stickers this time because he behaved so well throughout the day like a big boy! He was so tired the end of the day that he passed out the minute he was put on his carseat.

May 3, 2011

Adrian began his last block of 6 speech therapy sessions with Rebecca at Markham Stouffville Hospital today. Similar to the past, Rebecca assessed Adrian in this first session to see where he’s at now. She’s pleased to see Adrian has made improvements since December that he's speaking in longer sentences. Adrian scored somewhere between 6-7 with a passing mark of 7 for his age appropriate language skills. Things that will need to work on in the following 5 sessions include reinforcing s-blend words, plurals (Adrian misses all the "s" / "es" for plurals) and grammars (make Adrian aware of the difference between "He" / "She" etc.).

Apr 28 - 29, 2011

The MIBG scan is scheduled at 13:30 but we didn’t get called in until 14:00. The scan lasted an hour and we’ll call the doc tomorrow to find out the result!

Dr Baruchel returned our call past 5pm on Friday letting us know the MIBG Scan result is NORMAL! :) Adrian is scheduled to return to Sick Kids on May 12th to see him and the other follow up appointments.

Apr 27, 2011

Adrian had the MIBG injection done at 11 this morning. With the Fukushima ordeal, we learnt more about the radioactive isotope. The Isotope that was used in MIBG is I-123 with a half life of 13 hours. Adrian was required to take Lugol's solution for 3 days (the day prior, the day of & the day after the injection) to protect his thyroid against radiation. It’s scary to know the amount of radiation Adrian has been exposed all through the years via different scans (MIBG / CT Scan). Unfortunately these tests are inevitable and will help us to detect any evidence of disease, if any.

Apr 22, 2011

Spent the afternoon at Puck’s farm on Good Friday. Adrian did Easter egg hunt, jumping castle pony ride & hay ride in the farm. He's made some new friends during our stay there.

Apr 19 – 20, 2011

We were shocked to have received a VM from Adrian’s Oncologist at Sick Kids this evening about the latest urine result. Spoke to the doc the next morning and were told about Adrian’s slightly elevated HVA results (normal being < 14, the latest measures 16). Though the doc said not to worry until he sees the latest scan result, he is going to arrange a MIBG scan for Adrian in the next two weeks just to play safe. The coordinator called later today notifying the isotope injection will take place on Apr 27 follow by the MIBG scan on Apr 28. Hoping for normal results as it is always.

Apr 17, 2011

Adrian had a disco themed birthday party this year with 7 other birthday buddies. The venue resembles the real disco where the kids had fun doing crazy moves and dances. Adrian enjoyed it tremendously! :)