Health

Contessa: 

She had her procedure at Allen done today. It was very quick, thankfully because she screamed through the entire thing. The radiologist saw what we were hoping to NOT see. She does have the reflux issue. Basically it means that when she goes to the bathroom, some of the urine shoots back up into her kidneys. This can causes bladder infections and ultimately irreversible kidney damage if not treated. 

She starts on a daily regimen of antibiotics tomorrow. This will likely continue for a year, at which time she will be retested to see if she has outgrown the problem. 

But, we will go to the U of I to meet with a Pediatric Urologist for a day of testing. The urologist could want to do something different. The possibility of surgery is out there, but its not very likely. 

Tess does also have a 'curve' in her urethra that is abnormal. Our pediatrician does not feel that is contributing to the problem, but it needs to be looked at as well. 

Over all I feel good about all of this. It all seems to be fixable...and catching it now is great news so that there is no chance the kidneys can be damaged. 

Lauren:

Lauren has always tested poorly in her hearing tests at school and for the past year her left ear has gotten progressively worse. She has started complaining about it even. 

So we went back to the ENT for a hearing check and exam. The left ear got worse since December. (She has a slight hearing loss in her right ear that the dr. thinks is familial, and irreversible - but its not significant.) 

So, back to the left ear. She had a tube in this year due to a lot of fluid backed up that had no chance of escaping without the tube. However, when the tube fell out, it left a hole, obviously. 

In most kids, this hole heals itself. But Lauren's is not healing and it is causing a SIGNIFICANT hearing loss for her. 

So, we are also taking her to the U of I to meet with a Pediatric ENT. And likely we will be having surgery for her 'patch' the hole. 

This issue has us more frustrated. Looking back we really didn't understand what was going on when Lauren had the tube put in and I wish I had asked more questions. 

Lauren is a outstanding student and I dont want that to be compromised in the coming year due to hearing in that ear that is getting worse and worse. 

So I am anxious to get this done. I talked with our pediatrician about all of it this afternoon and he explained it in more detail to me - MUCH better than our ENT who we really are not pleased with...

Our pediatrician told me that the ENT's at the U of I are known as the best in the country for pediatrics. He said that we will be meeting with the absolute best that there is and we will leave very happy and at ease. 

So, anyway, that's the story...