Grade I Reflux

I was able to speak directly with Dr. Mailander today regarding Ellie's test from last week. While her kidneys look normal, with no abnormalities, the VCUG did show that she has what is termed Grade I reflux of her right kidney. Reflux, for those of you unfamiliar with it, occurs when urine from the bladder is shunted back into the ureters and/or kidneys, rather than passing out of the body normally. There are several grades (up to five, I believe, but I may be wrong on that one) with a higher number indicating greater severity. With grade I, the urine is actually only be pushed back into Ellie's ureters, and not her kidneys. So......grade I is the 'best possible' level she could have. Good news. Not that I love the notion that she has reflux at all, but if she is going to have something, I would rather it be relatively benign, ya know?

Dr. Mailander indicated that it is quite likely that Ellie will simply grow out of the reflux, but at this time, she would like us to see a pediatric urologist at Loma Linda to formulate a 'game plan' as to how we should deal with it all. Ellie may be placed on a low-dose antibiotic as a prophylactic to ward off any possible UTI's, since a simple bladder infection can quickly turn into a full blown and dangerous kidney infection quite rapidly with reflux kids, or we may just simply wait and see how she does. Personally, Ty and I aren't thrilled with the idea of prophylaxis treatment, but we will wait to talk further with the urologist about it all. So....certainly not horrible news, but not the clean bill of health I had hoped for. I'm hoping that we will be able to see the urologist soon so that we can be a better informed. For now, I will take Ellie in to Dr. Mailander sometime this week for another straight cath'd urine culture and we'll just wait and see.

An update on Angel........
I was able to speak with Sarah over the weekend and learned that Angel will be listed on the national transplant list tomorrow (Tuesday), I believe. It has been quite a whirlwind for Sarah and Nick the last few days, trying to mobilize support and make a game plan for if/when transplant does occur.

Going back for those of you who don't know Sarah and Nick, Angel is their 8 y/o adoptive son, whom they both met while working at Loma Linda University Medical Center over 5 years ago.(This is also where I met Sarah). Angel was born premature (at 31 weeks, I believe) at only a pound and a half (again, I think that is right...Sarah feel free to correct me!) During his first months, he underwent several bowel resections, and thus became a child with Short Bowel Syndrome. He cannot absorb food and nutrients through his bowels as you and I do, and because of this, has a central line placed in his chest to receive nourishment called TPN. It is the TPN that nourishes his body that also has the 'side effect' of damaging his liver over time. This is the cliff notes version of a very long, miraculous and technical story, but Angel is, to say the least, a walking miracle. He is a vibrant, beautiful young boy with a zest for life like none other! He captured all of our hearts long ago, and when Sarah and Nick brought him home with them so many years ago at the Lord's calling, they gave him a quality of life he would have never experienced this side of Heaven! His little life has been so blessed, and likewise, he blesses others with it!

Fast forward now to more recently. Angel's health has been precarious for several months now. His liver has been hit hard with infection after infection and it is having a hard time recovering after illnesses like simple cold viruses and such. He has been in school much of the year, but with his little body unable to fight off infection, Sarah and Nick had to begin what is called reverse isolation about 5 weeks ago (essentially, they cannot be out in public much, nor have many visitors). In recent months, they began the evaluation for a liver and bowel transplant through UCLA Medical Center and thought that it would take months for the evaluation and subsequent listing. But Angel's health has been declining such lately that the surgeons and doctors at UCLA felt a strong urgency to list Angel as soon as possible. And while Sarah and Nick are so strong in their faith, and trust that God has a perfect plan (which He does!), the logistics of how this will all work is proving to be quite problematic. The surgery will entail many months of hospitalization at UCLA, with several more after that of Angel needing to be within 10 minutes of the hospital, followed even further by a lengthy period of time where he will need to be seen by his physicians up to three times a week. With them living 60 miles from the hospital, you can see why this will be tough. Will they move? Will they commute? What about their home here? What about the other kids? What about finances? And to top it off, they are expecting their third child in just over 6 weeks! Oh dear! It almost seems impossible. To us, anyway. But God has a master plan and He sees the greater purpose in all of this. Sarah and Nick are handling this all amazingly well....with grace and incredible faith they press on and take each new step as it comes. I tell you all this so that we all might be a circle of prayer surrounding them through such an uncertain and scary time. You may not know them well (or even at all) but please pray for the lord's perfect timing, for organs to become available, and for the Lord to prepare the path ahead of them and work out the logistics that we, in our human state, cannot seem to coordinate in our mind. Your prayers do and will mean so much.