Long Day in Iowa City

Well we had a long day in Iowa City 9:45-4:00. Hayden's kidneys are doing well. No big change-better or worse. His Rt kidney still is enlarged and slow to drain. The good thing is that it is draining and the tissue is healthy. We go back in 6 months for the same tests. The specialist said that he will continue to monitor his kidney until it gets better or it gets worse. So we will do the tests every 6 months until Hayden is 2 and then maybe once a year after that. Less frequently as he gets older and can communicate i.e tell us if something hurts. If it gets worse then they will do some type of surgery to fix whatever is blocking the right kidney. Not a huge risky procedure but it is surgery nonetheless.

So looks like he will have to endure more tests. Poor guy. Luckily the center in Iowa City makes it as comfortable as they can for him. The ultrasound is quick and painless. He gets a little ticklish when they start rooting around on his lower back and gets pretty squirmy. Which makes it a challenge to ensure that he doesn't fall off of the small and narrow ultrasound table.

We came back to the office after the ultrasound and they scoped out Hayden's veins for the IV and then put a numbing cream on them. He had the cream on his hands and his feet. They had to wrap his hands in purple tape (boxing gloves) because he was sucking the plastic that they used to cover the cream. He sucked most of the cream out of the bandage anyway. His mouth had to of been numb the rest of the day. Then we had an hour to spare so we went to the cafeteria and had lunch and then wondered around. We found a library (imagine that) and a museum that displayed the history of the U of I Hospital. Pretty neat.

Then it was back to the office to get the IV. I was nervous but it went well. The numbing cream worked and they dipped his pacifier in sugar water to help. He didn't even flinch. Whew!!!!

We then went to the radiology department for the Renal Scan. They inject low grade nuclear radiation in him and then follow the track through the kidneys to monitor how it goes in and out. It is amazing to see it on the screen. They take pictures every 15 seconds. Then they give him a medicine half way through to make him urinate a lot! The tough part is he is velcroed onto this board for 45 minutes and we have to restrain him or keep his movements to a minimum. He did good until about 5 minutes left and then he just got tired of laying there and screamed for 1 minute. Then slept for one minute and then looked around for the remaining 3. After the test is over Joey and I had a back ache from bending over and all 3 of us were sweaty. The radiologists said that they wish all of their patients were as good as Hayden because sometimes they have to break out the earplugs to muffle the screaming. We will see how he does at one year. What child would like to be restrained for 45 minutes? Then they let him loose and we have to change his diaper and put it in a special container. Because it is radioactive they have to let it sit there for 4 days. Strange. Then is is back under the machine for 2 minutes for more measurements. They ensure us that the radioactivity is minimal. Joey tries to explain it to me but I get lost. So if you have questions about nuclear radiation feel free to contact Joey.

Then back to meet with Dr. Austin and get the IV removed ( he had enough by then and screamed at the nurse). He was asleep before we even got out of the office.

Today we met my friends TeresaAnn and Shawna at Mr. Beans for lunch and then ran to get groceries. Our friend Johnny is coming to hang out for the weekend. Looking forward to seeing him because he just got back from visiting his family in Australia. He was gone for 2 months so we have a lot to catch up on.