How do I tell my daughter about her test?

[mom2hannahsonal]

I'm sitting here worrying about Hannah because she has to go for an upper GI series, barium swallow and small bowel follow through in the morning.

The test will take 4 hours and she has to drink barium and have pictures taken every 15-30 minutes. I know that this is not invasive but to make a 7 y/o child have to go through this.....

This is hard on even an adult. But a child?

My other worries are fear of the unknown...What will they find? And I worry about the amount of radiation she has to undergo as a child with 4 hours of testing.

Well, I have to keep her NPO after midnight too. I will be waking her up at 11:30 so that she can have a drink before she can;t have anything until the testing is over.

I know she will ask me why I am waking her up and I don't know what to say. I will probably give as little info as possible to satisfy her just so she doesn't get worked up and can't fall back to sleep.

And in the morning I will have to divulge more info b/c she isn't going to school so I will get questioned on that too...Hannah is too smart for her own good, I think.

Well, I don't like to lie to my child so I feel like a bad mommy......I wasn't prepared for this.

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[gustinebrat]

Apr. 9, 2008 at 11:00 PM i feel sorry for both of you bot tell her as soon as she is done at the hospital that you will get her something to eat and drink like mcdonalds or something for being so good

[babyblue21]

Apr. 9, 2008 at 11:04 PM I just wanted to say be completly honest. Let her know whats going on and that your there no matter what. My son had the same test done at 1yr. The tech mixedthe barium with red koolaid powder to change the flavor (didn't work). It is very thick and hard to swallow. He screamed only when they did the xrays. Of course we got to stay with him and on the last set of xrays he actaully enjoyed watching the screen and they showed him his insides. Good luck tomorrow.