Hemangioma

Ian has developed a little hemangioma on the back of his head. It wasn't there at birth, but it showed up later and has been growing fairly steadily. My college friend, who is a dermatologist, happened to see it and alerted me to the fact that sometimes these hemangiomas, when in the midline on the head, can connect to the brain. Not good. So at Ian's 2 month visit with his pediatrician, I mentioned the hemangioma. The doctor said that he has never seen one connect to the brain, but wanted to ask a dermatologist about it. The dermatologist recommended that Ian get an MRI to make sure that the hemangioma did not connect to the brain. So this morning, we went to Children's Hospital in Waltham so that Ian could have an MRI. We had to be there at 6:45 am, but it was good that we had to be there very early because Ian wasn't allowed to have any food before the scan. The nurses there were very nice and were able to get the IV into Ian without too much trouble. Ian, of course, screamed his little head off, but those IV needles hurt! They sedated Ian through the IV and the scan then took 1 hour. It took a long time for Ian to wake up after the scan. The nurses really wanted him to be awake for the car ride home to ensure that his airway didn't get obstructed by a drooping head in the car seat. But he was just sooo sleepy and we finally convinced the nurses to let us go home. Ian was incredibly sleepy/calm all day. He never cried for food and so I just fed him every 2 to 2.5 hours. We didn't see his precious smile until around 7 pm, when it seemed like he was finally himself again.

*Update*
We got the news that Ian's hemangioma is only on the surface and does not connect to his brain. We are very relieved. Apparently the hemangioma will grow more for the next one to two years and then go away on its own. Good news!