When Griffin was born, we knew he had what is known as hydronephrosis (swelling of the kidney due to back up of urine). At 2 months old, he had extensive testing done to find the cause, which ended up being that his ureter is narrow where it enters the bladder so his right kidney drains too slow, hence the back up of urine.
From the time we got the test results, the plan of action was to monitor him every three months through ultrasound at a pediatric urologist and put him on a daily antibiotic to prevent any UTIs or kidney infections. Until yesterday, there had not been much change to the condition of the hydronephrosis, so we were to just continue monitoring unless things got worse or he started having breakthrough infections. Well, yesterday’s ultrasound showed that the dilation had indeed gotten worse, and his doctor did not think it wise to wait another three months for another ultrasound. The risk of damage to his kidney is too great compared to the alternative, which at this time is surgery.
We knew from the beginning that surgery was an option should the condition not improve, but I honestly don’t think I saw us going in that direction. A lot of children grow out of the hydronephrosis as their little bodies get bigger and we were hopeful that would happen for Griffin. That scenario is just not the case, so with complete confidence in Dr. Nguyen, we are moving forward with surgery for our sweet boy this month.
The surgery itself will take about an hour and according to Dr. Nguyen, is pretty routine as far as this part of the body is concerned. He will have a small incision at his bladder, the doctor will detach the ureter and cut out the part causing the blockage, then reattach the ureter back to the bladder. We will be at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and it will require only one overnight, pending everything goes smoothly. Doc says he expects Griffin to be up and back in action the next day, and knowing our Griff, he will be! The rest of recovery is fairly simple and will not require any sort of change in eating, drinking, or playing for G. He’ll have a follow up about 4 weeks after and as long as he has no bleeding or infection, he’ll be good as new and the hydronephrosis will be gone forever!
Please join us in praying for these specific things:
- For Griffin’s body to be strong and ready to be put under (this is what freaks me out the most)
- For Ryan and I to have peace and confidence that this is how God has chosen to heal Griffin
- For Dr. Nguyen, the day of surgery, that he would take care of my baby
- For Griffin’s recovery to be complete and perfect
Thank you for all your support and prayers. We’ll keep family and friends posted on surgery date and any needs we come across.
