Courtney's CT Scan

     Courtney received the honor last week of becoming the first of the Apedaile6 to have a CT scan. Not something to brag about as a Mom, but we need to put positive spins on everything, right?

     Before you have to read much further, let me assure you nothing horribly awful is going on with Courtney. She does have a medical issue we are looking into, but nothing critically pressing.

     This past Feb/March, we received a letter from school stating Courtney had failed 3 hearing screening tests and suggested we follow up with her Dr. Trying to not be too long winded, we had an appt with her Dr, sent to an audiologist who confirmed a hearing loos in her right ear, and back to the Dr for allergy testing to determine if that might be the root cause (it wasn't). We then had to wait until just last week for our appointment with the ENT for further evaluation.

     At the ENT, Courtney had another hearing test since it had been so long. Once again, it was confirmed that she has a hearing loss in her right ear, specifically with higher frequency the loss is more significant. The Dr said we needed to proceed with a CT scan to see the inner structures as from what limited views he could see, there wasn't anything "wrong". From what the hearing test suggested and his knowledge, he is thinking it might be something called Otosclerosis- basically a bony growth in the middle ear that prevents vibration(how we hear). Another possibility could be some fluid somewhere it shouldn't be, which I think would be the best outcome.

     Courtney headed to the hospital for her CT scan and was a bit nervous. She was a little trooper through it all though.

 I managed to snap one photo on my phone when Courtney was being prepared for her scan. I figured photos were a "no-no" so I didn't want to get in trouble :) The CT scanner was an "open" tube, so that was a big relief for Courtney.

This is the view I had once the scan started. Closed door and an X-Ray in Use that lit up. I could hear a noise similar to when an airplane takes off, but of course much quieter. The whole scan took less than 5 minutes and Courtney was relieved the unknown wasn't as bad as she imagined.

 

The Dr requested we get a disk to bring back for our follow up appointment, so when we got home I of course had to take a peek! This is by far my favorite shot- so cool to see her skull, spine, teeth!

There were a few other shots, but this one I call the Smile :)

I think part of what the Dr needs to see is on the left and right sides, with the right side clearly looking different than the left. Since I don't hold an M.D., we will wait until her appt on Aug. 1st to determine what exactly is causing the hearing loss and determine what needed treatment Courtney could benefit from. We would gladly accept any prayers for Courtney, her hearing, and that she be spared from any further loss.