Long Awaited Day

We finally had our long-awaited appointment at Scottish Rite Children's Hospital today.

Parker had an ultrasound of his bladder and kidneys, as well as a VCUG (a procedure where they catheterize him, shoot dye up and take x-ray pictures of what happens). He did great for both procedures, and so did we! :)

After the tests, we had an immediate consult with the surgeon, who read the pictures and did a great job explaining them to us.

Parker has a cele on his bladder (imagine almost a balloon within the bladder) that is obstructing the flow of urine out of his bladder. This is causing his bladder to never fully empty, in spite of lots of contracting. Also, his kidneys and ureters are all dialated with urine ("hydronephrosis"); the left kidney much moreso than the right kidney. The hydronephrosis is not caused by reflux of urine back into the kidneys, rather by the urine collecting and not really having anywhere to go.

The pediatric urologist has scheduled Parker for surgery on Tuesday of next week. She will use a scope to puncture the bladder cele and feels pretty confident this will help the flow of urine out of the bladder, as well as relieve the hydronephrosis on the right kidney. She is not as sure about its impact on relieving the left kidney. However, best case, we might have a "solved" problem. (This is what we're praying for!) Two weeks after Parker's surgery, we'll do another ultrasound and VCUG to see where things stand. Then, we'll go from there.

Thomas and I feel great about having a plan and feel like we are in really good hands here. God has been so good in bringing us this far, and we know He will continue to hold us in His palm.