Sunday 20 January 2008

On and on...





Little by little I'll get more about Calvin, etc up here... I've caught another cold, so hitting the right little buttons seems like a challenge... Calvin's kidneys are functioning at a level where right now he won't need dialysis.

They are about 5cm which are small for a child of his age -- they should be about 6cm. On scans, both of his kidneys appear white in color when they should appear black or dark gray.

One great thing about hospitals here is that when you go get the scan, it's preformed by the doctor that you actually need to see, not someone entirely unrelated to his treatment. It's a huge difference... even just cutting out the waiting time between getting the scan and seeing the appropriate doctor...

So, his kidneys also have "bumps" but the neurologist is unsure whether they are calcified areas or deadened areas caused by the asphyxia at birth. No way to know for sure unless they cut him open and look inside. And because Calvin is not growing right now his kidneys are functioning at a level that can support his little body -- but as he grows, function will worsen.

The best case scenario is that they'll last him until he's a young teenager, and he'll be old enough to handle dialysis or possibly a transplant.

His high chair is almost finished -- he had the final fitting last Thursday, so we should have it in a week or so.

I'll post pictures when he has it...

He's doing well at his sippy cup -- he can drink better out of that right now than his bottle. He's still a little choppy with it, but getting better. He despises his formula and outright refuses to drink it... water, he'll drink a gallon of, but not formula -- which isn't great because water alone can increase seizures. He already has too much water in his brain... We're going to try and switch him to cow's/soy milk and see how that goes...

Eli's doing well enough. His big event was pink eye...

Rhiannon's just Rhiannon...

I suppose that's all for now.....

3 comments:

Toby O'B said...

I put my ear to the computer screen and could hear the cat mew:

"Save me!"

Anonymous said...

hahahaha, the cat actually doesn't seem to mind, hehehe, Rhiannon is stunning, and the photo of Eli is so cute I didn't even notice the pink eye until I read the caption.

Miss you, miss you!!
Kamila

Anonymous said...

Rhinnon is just adorable! poor kitty so under loved! Eli looks great...what a character. Always in my thoughts and prayers.

Your Florida Cousin
Ellyn