Parotid Gland Hemangioma

We spent the day at Mayo today. We left home at 7:45 this morning and got home at 7:15 tonight. It was a loooooong day.



First we saw the Ped ENT. She showed us the CT Scan results, and explained that the spot on Madelyn is a Parotid Gland Hemangioma. Most times when people have these, they are a strawberry color on the child's skin, and quite often raised. However, Madelyn's hemangioma is in her Parotid (saliva) gland. They think that b/c it's not at the skin's tissue serface is the reason why her's isn't bright red. They said there is still a chance that it could turn red, and it may get bigger. There isn't a lot known about Hemangiomas, which is basically a swollen blood vessel. But it is known that this is the most common kind of childhood "tumors". They are non-cancerous, and typically go away on their own.
We also met with a hemotologist/oncologist. We met with 2 doctors to make sure that everyone agreed on the CT report. The hemotologist/oncologist said that this is nothing to worry about. However, they still want to monitor it. Right now the hemangioma is pressing against Madelyn's ear canal. We want to make sure it doesn't completely "squeeze" off the canal. If this does happen down the road, we would then consider treatment. But for now, we're leaving it.
We are also going to have an MRI to see a better picture of her hemangioma. This way if she does need treatment down the road, they'll have a better picture of the tissues around the hemangioma. An MRI means going through the same procedure as the CT scan... Madelyn will go under anesthesia, have a breathing tube and get another IV. This is going to mean another hard emotional day, but then hopefully we're done with all of our test... at least for a while.
The hemangioma measured 4 cm x 3 cm. They'll observe it, and if they think it's growing they may take another CT Scan of it in the future. Otherwise, we'll leave it alone and it will eventually, hopefully within 2-3 years go away.


I'm so ready to be done with Mayo. The facility is beautiful and the doctors have been great, but I hate being there. I hate seeing Madelyn going through tests and being in pain from iv's and such. I hate seeing all the sick kids around us. It felt so good to get home tonight and just hang out at home as a family.
Healthy kids are such a blessing. There are so many kids out there who aren't very fortunate. My heart breaks for those kids and families... however I can't change them. But what I can do is realize that healthy kids are a blessing. I've always been thankful for my kids, but I have a new kind of thankful now.
The last thing the dr told us as we left today was "your daughter is very lucky. You guys are lucky". I keep telling myself that. Going through this process has been so hard emotionally, but we are lucky. We're blessed.