VCUG

Ania in her teeny little hospital gown


Ania did very well for her tests today. She was an angel through the ultrasound. After that we had to wait for quite a while for the VCUG so she was tired by the time we started that one. However, the nurses and techs were wonderful with her and enjoyed playing with her while we waited. Once they finally got started she whimpered a little while they were doing the catheter but having her pacifier and mommy helped. After that she got mad about being held down but handled it pretty well. The PA told us then that she has grade 3 reflux on the left side (on a scale of 1-5). The usual plan of action is an antibiotic daily to prevent UTIs and then repeat tests every 6-12 months until she outgrows it. Most kids outgrow it and usual by the time they are school age. The concern with the reflux is that it can cause infection after infection that can eventually damage the kidney. However, with the preventative antibiotics kids with this seem to be fine. From what I understand the only further action would be if she does not eventually outgrow it or if it becomes severe. Then there would be surgery - but this is very unlikely.
We have not heard any results from the ultrasound yet. Hopefully her doctor will call this evening or tomorrow. I am assuming that it will be fine.
It is a little stressful to me for her to have this - I guess just on top of everything else I feel overwhelmed by it. But, on the bright side, it is "treatable" and she should outgrow it. Also, I am thanking the Lord for a thorough doctor who insisted we check her out - and a caring brother-in-law who advised us to do it now even though it would be hard financially now. We really avoided further kidney damage by doing it now. The other thing that we found out today is that because of this she could have been having UTIs all along - just not having fevers with them so we weren't catching them. It could be the source of some of her discomfort.
Thank you so much everyone for praying. Again, she seems a little uncomfortable today but it seems to come and go. For the most part she has been smiling and happy. And as a side note - Isaiah had to go with us for these tests and he did a great job being a big boy and handling being there for 2 hrs. Way to go Isaiah! He has also finally decided to complete his potty training. He started potty training at 18 months and did a great job with it except for pooping in the potty. Well, while I was really pregnant and then when Ania came along he kind of gave up for a while. Just within the past few days he has started telling us he needs to poop and actually making it to the potty. Today he told us he needed to pee and made it to the potty (usually we have to just take him - he will always say no if you ask - he will tell you as he is peeing in his pants). He has been staying dry during nap for probably about a week or two now and has recently started staying dry at night. Woohoo! Excited to not have to buy pull ups! :0)
I will post again once I hear from Ania's doctor.