Emily Update

I mentioned in my previous post that Emily had an appointment with her nephrologist (kidney specialist) on Wednesday. She has vesicoureteral reflux and hydronephrosis of the kidneys. She woke up one morning last November with a high fever and some vomiting and was found to have a urinary tract infection. The doctor put her on an antibiotic (Furadantin) and scheduled her for a VCUG procedure (not a lot of fun, involving a catheter, x-ray machine and dye insertion). Emily did AMAZING throughout the procedure, barely making a peep and just showering the radiologist, nurse and doctor with smiles. This procedure confirmed the above diagnosis. We met with the nephrologist in January and he agreed with us in being against long-term use of antibiotics to prevent another infection and was also not in favor of doing surgery right away. The plan has been to keep an eye on things through occasional ultrasounds.

In February Emily had her last ultrasound and it showed less dilation (swelling) of her kidney. In her appointment Wednesday, the nephrologist confirmed that her last ultrasound showed slight improvement and our new plan is to move the occasional ultrasounds back to every 6 months and he'll just keep an eye on it from there. It was good news, but the best news is that she has not had another urinary tract infection since that first one in November. Praise the Lord! She continues to be our sweet (yet spunky) girl who loves to play with her brother and in her kitchen.