Beth and Addie News: Vesicoureteral Reflux

Well the first half of last Wednesday was not a fun day for me, Addie or David. Addie was diagnosed with Vesicoureteral Reflux when she was 6 months old.....aka...kidney reflux. When she was 6 months old she had to go to Children's Hospital to have a test called, Voiding Cystourethrogram (VCUG), to confirm it was kidney reflux. She has been on a daily antibiotic since she was 6 months to keep her from getting UTIs. Well a year later it was time to go back for the re-test to see if Addie still has kidney reflux. The test involves X-rays and Addie had to be catheterized. A radioactive liquid that can be seen on x rays is placed in the bladder through a catheter. Pictures are taken when the bladder is filled and when Addie goes to the bathroom. The test shows if the urine leaves the body normally or flows back up into the kidneys. Needless to say Addie was extremely confused and crying and upset. It was emotional, not because of the diagnosis, but because any parent hates to see their child upset. Of course Addie did not understand what was happening to her or why she needed to be held down or why she needed to be catheterized. Apparently kidney reflux is very common. After speaking with a few other moms they informed me that their daughters had to go through the same tests as well. The wonderful, fantastic, great, thrilling news is that she no longer has kidney reflux! Yeah! We will not have to go back to have this test done again...hopefully never! I am smiling in this picture because all of her tests are done. As you can see from Addie's expression she does not believe me that the tests are over. Poor thing.

After we left the hospital Addie felt fine so I wanted to go do something fun so we went to the Children's Museum. It was PERFECT! http://www.imagineit-cma.org/ Since we went in the middle of the week there was no one there and Addie had free rein of the place! I honestly think she forgot about the hospital visit when she came here! This place is wonderful!

There was the natural tunnel! It was as you were crawling through an underground tunnel. There were little caves with snakes and underground creatures you could see! Addie loved this. It had a slide at one end! We had to pull her away from this to go to the other activities!

This was moon sand! This stuff is wonderful. It does not stick to your hands! It never dries out and it molds like clay!

Then there was the pond area! They give you a rain coat to wear so your clothes don't get all wet. They have fishing poles and frogs and all sorts of pond creatures!