MRI Burn Update

This morning we were told that Noah's MRI was going to be a lot earlier than two in the afternoon. As the nurses began to prepare him for transport down to the unit, I became very anxious and upset at the answers from the doctors and nurses. They couldn’t guarantee the safety of the chemistry in his IV, they were bringing breathing tools with pieces of aluminum into the procedure  -  and I  -  being very ignorant about the whole process and the science behind it, became very agitated. The feeling of helplessness and the desire to protect him shifted my emotions into overdrive. I had asked yesterday that the head of the department be there to check the room and Noah. They were not sure he was going to be there. This only fueled my anger. 

The chaplain and social worker showed up just at the right time. They helped settle me down and get my emotion under control. I asked everyone to try to see this scenario from a parent’s perspective. My boy is hurting and I want positive assurance he will not get hurt any more. I apologized for reacting in anger. We began another long walk down the hall.

When we arrived at the unit, we were met by a man who had the air of importance around him. He introduced himself to us as Dr. David Young.
He sat us down and asked us our level of education in science and mathematics because he wanted to know where to start with the explanation. As he began to tell the amazing power of the machine we understood how important it is and how much of a GOD send this thing is. 
Then the reason for the burn came. This is their best guess, and not a 100% positive answer.
Sunday's MRI on Noah was an emergency procedure. The anesthesiologist wanted Noah to be warm so before the procedure he placed a new blanket on him. It was what they call a "space blanket." Cloth on one side, aluminum on the other side. The blanket radiates the body's heat back to itself. It’s a great invention. The blanket is new to the hospital and was not supposed to be in the MRI.
The MRI techs have their own blankets they usually use. They did not operate according to protocol and kept the blanket on Noah to keep him warm - not knowing it was unsafe.

Inside the MRI, the magnetic field is 20,000 times stronger than the earth’s natural magnetic pull.  What they think is that the the electrons of the aluminum were excited and created a current which arced onto Noah's arm and burned him. We are very lucky it was the only place he was burned.

We were assured this would never happen again. All of these blankets have been pulled from the shelves. The manufacturer I believe is being contacted and hopefully this hospital will tell every other MRI unit in the world the dangers of the blankets.

Because we know it was unintentional, that they had Noah's comfort in mind when they placed it on him to keep him warm,  - we choose to forgive the techs and all involved. Jesus has taught us to be people of mercy and grace. After being told all this information, Jessica said "If this was supposed to happen to Noah so that others would not be hurt then we accept it." 

We are  thankful to the staff at GE and the staff at UAB for such a deep investigation. We wanted closure - now we have it.

Please forgive those involved along with us and let’s not use this as an opportunity to tarnish an institution that does so much good for so many children.

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