The Kidney Update
I apologize for not getting this update sooner, we have been on the run a bit in the last week and haven't had much time to sit down and blog.
Nonetheless... here we go!
We saw a pediatrician last week... the appointment was informative and gave us an idea of what the issue is with E's kidney. He has what is called Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney, which sounds bad by the name, but the reality associated with it, is better than expected.
As I said in a previous post, the right kidney is made up of multiple cysts which were detected in a prenatal ultrasound. The cysts form due to abnormal fetal development of the kidney (which I am told could not be prevented, but am I thinking my trip to Dominican just prior to finding out I was pregnant may have been cause -- NO NO, of course not)!
The research I have done on this kidney issue says that Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney occurs as often as 1 in 4300 births - which isn't that often, but isn't super rare either!
One of the main issues with this diagnosis is blood pressure. When we saw the pediatrician last week she took E's blood pressure and it was HIGH. It was the first time he had his blood pressure taken so she wanted to do another reading the following day to ensure that it wasn't just a fluke. Luckily, we returned the next day and his blood pressure was much lower/normal, so she didn't rush us to a hypertension clinic, she sent us for some precautionary blood work (which is a whole other post).
The pediatrician is also referring us to a nephrologist who will follow E's case in the coming months. His blood pressure is going to be monitored by our pediatrician for now (every two weeks to start), and we will go from there.
In addition to E's right kidney, the original ultrasound he had a few weeks back, also showed some mild displacement in the ureter - the tube that flows from the kidney to the bladder - meaning that some urine was backing up in this tube which is suppose to have a one directional flow of urine. Because of this, the pediatrician wants to ensure that no urine is backing up into the good kidney, as this would be major cause for alarm.
So... next Wednesday we will grace the doors of CHEO again for a VCUG test which will tell the doctors if the good kidney is in jeopardy or not (which in my mind, it is NOT).
That is as much as we know to date... and surprisingly my stress level is not that bad. I think for me, the fact that E is so happy and outgoing - and doesn't show any signs of slowing down is keeping me from thinking that this small hiccup in his health is going to turn bad. For now, I am believing that he will go through life with one good kidney and that this kidney will not fail him, or us!
That's my story ... and I'm sticking to it!
Nonetheless... here we go!
We saw a pediatrician last week... the appointment was informative and gave us an idea of what the issue is with E's kidney. He has what is called Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney, which sounds bad by the name, but the reality associated with it, is better than expected.
As I said in a previous post, the right kidney is made up of multiple cysts which were detected in a prenatal ultrasound. The cysts form due to abnormal fetal development of the kidney (which I am told could not be prevented, but am I thinking my trip to Dominican just prior to finding out I was pregnant may have been cause -- NO NO, of course not)!
The research I have done on this kidney issue says that Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney occurs as often as 1 in 4300 births - which isn't that often, but isn't super rare either!
One of the main issues with this diagnosis is blood pressure. When we saw the pediatrician last week she took E's blood pressure and it was HIGH. It was the first time he had his blood pressure taken so she wanted to do another reading the following day to ensure that it wasn't just a fluke. Luckily, we returned the next day and his blood pressure was much lower/normal, so she didn't rush us to a hypertension clinic, she sent us for some precautionary blood work (which is a whole other post).
The pediatrician is also referring us to a nephrologist who will follow E's case in the coming months. His blood pressure is going to be monitored by our pediatrician for now (every two weeks to start), and we will go from there.
In addition to E's right kidney, the original ultrasound he had a few weeks back, also showed some mild displacement in the ureter - the tube that flows from the kidney to the bladder - meaning that some urine was backing up in this tube which is suppose to have a one directional flow of urine. Because of this, the pediatrician wants to ensure that no urine is backing up into the good kidney, as this would be major cause for alarm.
So... next Wednesday we will grace the doors of CHEO again for a VCUG test which will tell the doctors if the good kidney is in jeopardy or not (which in my mind, it is NOT).
That is as much as we know to date... and surprisingly my stress level is not that bad. I think for me, the fact that E is so happy and outgoing - and doesn't show any signs of slowing down is keeping me from thinking that this small hiccup in his health is going to turn bad. For now, I am believing that he will go through life with one good kidney and that this kidney will not fail him, or us!
That's my story ... and I'm sticking to it!
posted by SC at 5:59 PM
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