Friday Trystan was scheduled for an MRI of his lower spine. One of the complications frequently associated with VACTERL is a tethered cord. If you actually follow that link, you can read a list of symptoms. Trystan does not appear to have any of them, at least any that we could look for in a kid his age (every 1year old is incontinent). He has just the barest "dimple" on his tailbone, but that is apparently genetic (ahem). At 13 months, he does not walk unassisted yet, at least not more than 3 or 4 steps before collapsing in giggles, but neither did Charlotte. So, I have high hopes that he will not have a tethered spinal cord. But, it is so terribly common with the imperforate anus and he has known issued with at least one of his lower vertebrae, so it's worth checking.
Trystan has been sick for every one of his surgeries, except the very first (I think germs need more than 24 hours to work). An MRI is not surgery, but he does need to be sedated. Trystan, true to form, developed a cold last week, and like many of his colds, it got down into his chest. Thursday he was sniffling and coughing occaisionally. Friday at 6:30AM when we arrived for his appointment, he was coughing a LOT, and breathing poorly enough that he was given a breathing treatment just in case. The breathing treatment didn't help--he doesn't have asthma, and though he's had to use an inhaler for one illness last fall, they don't help with most of his colds--but he also got no MRI. Anestheisologists don't like sedating people who are having trouble breathing.
So, we're rescheduling. The new date will be sometime probably early June to give his lungs time to rest. In the mean time, he sound 100% better, and slept the entire night last night (8pm-7am) without coughing once. Except for a little crusty snot around his nose this morning, you'd have no idea the kid was sick last week.
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