The Kiddy Update

Here we go and I apologize for being so tardy in giving updates on my children whom of late seem to have a penchant for living the unlucky dramatic life like their mother:



Kaelen's Story:

Why did I ever think that being casted from groin to toe would seriously hinder Kaelen's ability to entertain himself? Kaelen has gone to teach me just how resilient children really are and how adaptable they can be. The little man motors around the house, up and down the stairs and can now pull himself up onto the couch or bed all on his own. His poor little butt, knee and elbows have the chaffed rug burns to prove just how hard he is working to entertain himself. His spirits are excellent and he already has the count down going for when he will be able to get himself back onto our backyard hockey rink. He has even gone so far as to ask if he can play butt hockey out there yet. Perhaps if it was -5 C I would entertain the thought but at -18 C as an average, his little butt would probably freeze to the ice. Kaelen's last check up went fabulous!! His leg had improved what I would say 100% since the previous week as far as bone regrowth and the specialist was so pleased that we do not have to go back until February 22nd for another x-ray. And, depending on that x-ray, Kaelen will either go home that day with a walking cast or will be recasted full leg for another 2 weeks. We are looking for sometime in the beginning of March that his little leg will be cast free and he may have to undergo minimal rehab. The great thing about him being only 3 is that these little guys will set their own limitations on their physical capabilities and will likely not overexert themselves.



Masyn's Story:
On the 24th, Masyn had a DMSA Scan done. It was a long test but thankfully one that was not uncomfortable to Masyn other than trying to entertain her from achieving total boredom. This test is basically an investigation that gives information about blood flow to the kidneys and how well each kidney is functioning for the production of urine. The test will also show if there are any obstuctions (such as scar tissue) for urine output. Masyn was given an injection into her vein and we had to leave and come back 2 hours later. Upon our return, we coaxed Masyn to sleep and laid her on the scanning bed at which point, the scan machine wedged itself around her and began taking pictures of her kidneys from various different angles. The scan itself took about 40 minutes so thankfully Masyn slept through the whole thing. We have not received the results as of yet, but results of this test will help determine if in fact Masyn does suffer from VUR (aka kidney reflux) and what kind of treatments if any she will need to help deal with it. Luckily, Masyn has her extreme youthful age on her side and if she does indeed have reflux, she will likely outgrow it by the age of 2. Upon consultation with the specialist, we have temporarily taken her off of the theraputic antibiotic and it is left upon me for the short term to be aware of any signs that she may display that could indicate that she may have an urinary tract infection or another kidney infection. We do know however that Masyn does have a larger than normal bladder so the specialist feels that she likely does not drain it until it is completely full. That would certainly explain why she can go for hours with a dry diaper and then two minutes later it will be beyond saturated. We also know that her right kidney, the lining around it is a little thicker than normal which certainly points towards mild reflux of some kind. We are lucky though as she is in excellent hands with the specialists at the Children's Hospital and we are potentially looking at a health problem that is very treatable.