NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A new book is helping kids navigate MRIs and the sounds the machines make.
"They're scary for adults and they're scary for kids," Joan Brasher said. Brasher co-wrote The Donut That Roared! A Child's Guide to Surviving an MRI.
Five years ago, doctors found an inoperable benign tumor in her nephew Jackson's brain
"Something we realized right away was he was going to be having a lot of MRIs, constantly."
Jackson is now 16.
"He is a pro. The main thing we want for children is that they will have tools to have the best MRI day ever. Sometimes it's just as simple as what you wear or just planning ahead and knowing what's going to happen," Brasher said.
Jackson helped his aunt write tips and suggestions for child MRI patients.
Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt has a team dedicated to helping children cope.
"The medical equipment can be intimidating and unfamiliar for a lot of children and they're often times required to be still for the pictures," Sarah Beth Gray said. Gray is a child life specialist at the hospital. "Anytime we can introduce a tool that children can respond to and familiarize something scary like an MRI, I think it is a great idea."
The children's hospital has purchased several copies of the book. It can also be ordered online.
