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This "image" center for the hospital also serves as a testing center to see "below the surface" for many different circumstances and diagnoses.
Hi! I am Moire, and I am 8 years old. I arrived today at Children's Hospital for my appointment at 10 a.m. in the Radiology Department. My mother Anna and my father Jeremiah checked me in at the Admitting Desk in the Main Lobby at Children's Hospital, and next I'll go to the Radiology Department for my appointment.
Now it's time for me to go back into the nurses' room. Nora, my nurse, explained to me that an IV is a tiny tube in my arm that would be put into my vein while I am having the scan done of my tummy. Medicine goes through a small tube and then into the tube in my arm, which then goes into my veins and throughout my body. Nora began cleaning my hand, and then I felt a pinch when she slid the tube into my hand. She put a piece of tape on top of the tube to hold it in place until it was time to take it out. Some children have to take medicine to put them to sleep so they will be really still during the scan. Today I will be awake the entire time because I'm old enough to stay still when the technologist asks me to.
There was a TV in the room playing cartoons to keep my mind off having to lie still and help pass the time.
My Mommy told me that while I was in the CT room, there were other children having all sorts of tests done in the Radiology Department. I am glad I got to relax and watch cartoons while it was so busy. |
Your 10-year-old daughter, Leanna, has an appointment at 9 a.m. tomorrow at East Tennessee Children's Hospital. She has to have an X-ray taken of her left ankle because she may have a broken bone. When you talked to your friend Paula at church on Sunday, she said that her son, Emmanuel, is having an 
This fictional story depicts a typical scenario of a child's appointment in the Radiology Department at Children's Hospital. It is intended only to give families a brief overview of what to expect when visiting the Radiology Department. This scenario will vary depending on a child's health and specific reason for the appointment. For more information, contact the Radiology Department at (865) 541-8116 or 
Children like you and me visit the Radiology Department for many different reasons every day. Today, I am having a CT scan of my tummy. The Radiology staff told my parents that it may take 15 minutes to an hour for my test. On my first visit, I was given a special drink to take home and drink two hours before my appointment. This morning I drank the medicine mixed with Gatorade to make it taste better. The radiologists will be able to see the medicine in my tummy under the CT scan. This medicine will outline specific parts of my body so doctors can figure out what is going on that makes my tummy hurt.
Soon,
it was time to go to the CT room for the pictures of my tummy. The Radiology
tech, Jennifer, got me comfortable on the table and placed me with my feet
toward the machine. She said I needed to lie very still and my feet would go
in toward the "doughnut" hole for the camera to scan pictures. As I went in
toward the hole, I was facing Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, whose pictures
are on the machine. Then there was a little humming noise, and the machine
took several pictures of my tummy for the radiologist to look at and talk with
my pediatrician about. When the CT scan began taking pictures, Jennifer told
me to hold my breath for about 15 seconds, so I would be really still on the
table.
The
CT scan was almost like riding a roller coaster at Dollywood, but it was much
slower. I got to "ride" the table up and into the doughnut hole, and then Jennifer
backed me out when the machine was finished. Jennifer told me that the machine
would not touch me, only take pictures, and that nothing about the CT scan
would hurt. She was right. I didn't feel anything; I just had to relax and
lie very still.
Soon it was finished. I went back to the nurses' room, Nora removed the IV, and then my parents took me home. Children's Hospital uses a system called PACS, where all the images taken in the Radiology Department go into a computer system. A radiologist will look at my CT scan pictures on a computer screen, then he will talk to my doctor about what the pictures show. I will go back to my doctor so he can tell Mommy, Daddy and me what we need to do so I will feel better.
