The results?

Shelby's CT scan was today. Other than the 2-hour delay because of a miscommunication between anesthesia and radiology, the test went fine. Daddy, Mommy, and Papa got to be with her as she went to sleep. Of course, Shelby will tell you she just decided to close her eyes for a while. She was not happy about drinking the CT contrast, but she managed. There were tears, but 10 ounces were downed in her new Sponge Bob cup. She fell in love with the wagon at the hospital and we spent much of the 2-hour delay pulling her through the halls in her "bathtub." She took a white blanket and would spread it out so it was very smooth and then lay under it. The blanket was her bubbles. Too funny!

Dr. Deutsch, her local GI, called a little bit after 5 p.m. with the results. NO TUMOR/MASS!!!! Thank God! It does not look like cancer. There is a fluid-filled cyst that they can see, but they don't know where its coming from. Is it in the liver or behind the liver? What is it filled with? Why is it there? All those questions remain unanswered. It is most likely something related to her Kasai procedure and liver-related, but they weren't able to get a clear enough picture from the CT scan.

So, what do we do next? On Monday Dr. Deutsch will order a HIDA scan. Shelby had one when she was under a month old and that was one of the big indicators that pointed to Biliary Atresia. Hopefully with this test, the dye will go to the area where the cyst is, showing where it is coming from. With today's test, the dye did not go to that area that well, making it difficult to tell what is causing the cyst.

If the HIDA scan does not give them good results, the next step with be going in with a needle. They'll drain the cyst to see what the fluid is and shoot in dye to see where it goes from the cyst.

Thank you everyone for the prayers for her. She still needs them. While its a relief that there was no mass and that its not looking cancerous, there is still concern as to what exactly is going on in there.