Upper GI X-rays

Well, I didn't sleep at all last night.

In part, I was worried about taking Tyler for his X-rays this morning.

Tyler didn't sleep much either. I'm not sure if he was worried about the X-rays or if it is that pesky fourth molar trying to push its way in.

The morning went much better than I expected. We had a very brief wait before being taken to a room with X-ray machines. Tyler was behaving very well despite being hungry and thirsty.

He looked so cute (but pitiful) in the teeny-tiny hospital gown.

He seemed to like the technician who fed him barium so the X-rays would clearly show his esophagus... at least he liked her before she held him down and made him drink that stuff.

He went to her willingly, although I think he had second thoughts when she laid him on the metal table.

Anyway, there were lead blankets under his head and his legs. The radiation comes up through the table and they were limiting his exposure as much as possible. The technician he liked held his head still and fed him the barium solution. Another person held his legs still. The radiologist watched the skeletal-looking image of Tyler's little body on a computer screen. Brian and I were behind her, so we could see the screen, too.

When he swallowed the barium, we could see a little cloud of black run down his throat and into his stomach.

Of course, he cried and cried. But it was fussing and not all-out panic, and he didn't get so upset that he threw up.

When they let him sit up and turned the lights on, we realized his little face was covered with the white barium solution. That was when he looked the most pitiful: little hospital gown, little red & tear-soaked face covered with white chalky stuff. And he was just so tiny in that large room next to the huge X-ray equipment.

We gave him some Pediasure to drink and he calmed right down. And that was that.

The radiologist said she didn't see anything wrong as she took the X-rays. She'll study them closer and forward them to our GI doctor. He should call us tomorrow or Friday and let us know if they see anything upon closer examination.