Kidney Infection

Please say a prayer for Mattie.  She has not been completely well since Christmas.  She keeps getting sick and mildly dehydrated and now she has a kidney infection.  She is still having pain in her abdomenwhere her transplanted kidney is.  The doctors think the pain is caused from adhesions and are considering doing laproscopic surgery to remove the adhesions.  There are three doctors that have to consult to decide if this would be the best route to try to eleviate the pain.  She is not feeling great and only able to go to school a few days if any each week.  She is tired of drinking.  4 liters a day is more than anyone would want to drink.  Please pray that the infections and illness will leave her body and she can have some normalcy the rest of the school year.  Also please pray for her to have the desire to drink.  It's a large burden for a 15 year old to bear, but I remind her daily how tough she is but most importantly how much God has blessed her.  Remember God is good ALL the time.  As always, thanks for your prayers!

Maddie will be 15 this Sunday (Dec 9)

It is so hard to believe that Maddie will be 15 on Sunday.  She is so blessed and we are so blessed to have her to celebrate.  It's very hard to believe that 10 years ago on her 5th birthday we were faced with the horrible news that she was in renal failure and would need a kidney transplant ...not the best of birthday presents.  But because God is so good He decided that we should keep Maddie around for a long time and I'm so thankful He did!  So we will celebrate all weekend as we love birthdays at our house!  If you want to tell Maddie Happy Birthday, you can email her at peters68@bellsouth.net or comment on the blog.  Remember to continue to pray for her as she is stilll having problems and is now considering going ahead with the fallopian tube surgery as she is growing tired of being in pain.  Heart doctor appointment was rescheduled for January 23.  So we will have a busy next few months.  We are looking forward to celebrating Christmas in Louisiana with all of our family!  Have a Merry Christmas and remember God is good ALL the time!

Results are in!

We received the results from Mattie's neurological test.  The MRI was unchanged so the brain stem malformation is no worse (great news) and the EEG shows that she is not having seizures (praise God).  The next step will be the Heart Doctor.  She has an appointment for Jan 31.  They are trying to work her in sooner, but for now we will have to wait. 

After talking to numerous doctors yesterday, they decided that Mattie may be suffering from severe anxiety which is making her physcially ill.  After all she does not have a normal life for a 14 year old, but I will say we are so thankful for the life she has!  They have started her on a new medication that will hopefully help her deal with some of the surprises that life seems to bring her.  She is a strong willed young lady and will deal with whatever comes her way!

We are asking that you pray for everyone to be healthy for the next few weeks as we are going to the mountains for a few days to enjoy Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to a trip that does not involve schedules and doctor visits. Our family needs a little break from the day to day bustle. 

Thank you to all of our prayer warriors!  God is good ALL the time!

Lots going on

Mattie has had quite a busy few weeks.  She is now being checked for kidney stones as we are still having problems in that area.  Waiting for the test results to come back from that, should know something by Friday.

Over the past few weeks Mattie has been having dizzy spells, blury vision and light headedness.  Her regurlar doctor sent her for a cat scan last Thursday and decided it would be best if she went to see a neurologist.  The neurologist we saw Friday asked lots of questions that would explain somethings that Mattie would do when she was younger.  They think she may be having seizures.  Because it is not the type of seizure you would expect, like grand mal seizures, they may have gone unnoticed.  She will have a brain wave test and MRI with contrast on Thursday, Nov 1.  The neurologist is a little concerned about the brain stem malformation causing problems.  They fissure cyst in her head had grown a little from the last cat scan a few months ago, but they don't think that is what is causing the problems.  The neurologist also wants her to see a heart doctor for precautionary reasons.  He said that people normally with kidney and liver problems can have heart problems.  He also said some of this could be caused by blood pressure.  Not sure when we will be seeing the new heart doctor. 

We also found out a few weeks ago, the fallopian tube is blocked again.  It will need to come out at some point.  Mattie would be out of commision for at least a month.  So right now, she said she will deal with the pain and wait. 

I will do my best to post as soon as we have the results from the MRI and brain wave test.  Please keep the prayers coming and remember God is good ALL the time! 

Surgery went well

Surgery went well yesterday.  The bladder was so pretty it didn't even need a biopsy.  The doctor said this is good news and bad because it doesn't explain the problems Mattie has been having.  He said he would discuss possible options with the Kidney doctors and we will go from there.  The kidney numbers looked good but the doctor said sometimes inflammation doesn't show in the numbers.  On another note, PRAISE GOD, her liver levels were normal.  They have not been normal in 7 years so the new medicine seems to be working along with all the prayers!  The fallopian tube was drained and there was much more fluid than anticipated.  The ObGyn said we will just have to wait and see if this causes some relief with the pain.  We will also have to monitor it to see if the fluid comes back.  If it does, and the pain is better without the fluid, they will have to consider the surgery to remove the tube.  They are trying to avoid this as it could be dangerous due to scar tissue and adhesions.  Mattie would have to be opened up and it is likely it would cause damage to the bowel and or bladder.  So please pray the fluid does not come back.  We are at home today as she is supposed to rest and be watched to make sure there are no complications.  Please continue to pray for answers for our Mattie and remember God is good ALL the time, no matter the circumstance!  Thanks and love to all of our prayer warriors!

Update on Mattie - Outpatient Surgery Tomorrow

Mattie has been sick now for well over a month, she has been going to school and functioning on Lortab.  Tomorrow she will have a bladder scope, bladder biopsy and they are going to drain the large mass of fluid from the ovary and fallopian tube in hopes to relieve some of the pain.  If neither of these relieve the pain, we will basically have to start from the GI route and see if they can figure it out.  I know Mattie is getting tired of being sick and being in pain.  Please pray for her tomorrow. Her surgery should be around 2 oclock at Children's in New Orleans. 

Long Month

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  Mattie has been sick for over a month.  The nuerosurgeon appointment went well.  He is going to monitor her on a yearly basis and check the cyst in the brain and the chiari to make sure there are no changes.

She has been suffering with itching and bladder/kidney infections for over month.  She was in the hospital as the only way they could give relief from the itching was to give her steroids and benedryl through IV.  While she was in the hospital a very nasty case of cystitis appeared so they gave her 6 bags of antibiotics through the IV and sent her home on 14 days of anitibiotics.  She appeared to be getting better and then it came right back.  It is very strange in that one day she can be well and the next day she is sick again.  The doctors say everything is systemic from the auto immune disease.  We went for a check up in New Orleans yesterday and her kidney numbers were not good.  We have to repeat labs on Monday.  If they are still too high, the doctor said he will need to do a kidney biopsy and a bladder scope to see what is going on.  In 9 years, we've only had elevated kidney numbers one other time and they said it was from a virus.  The numbers went right back down and everything was okay.  This kidney has been very good to Mattie and we want to keep it that way.  Please pray that maybe this is a virus or dehydration issue and her numbers will be normal Monday.  She is having a very hard time getting well this time.  She normally has little set backs that last a few days to a week, but this one is wearing her out.

The problems they face in treating her are what they would normally give a kidney transplant patient or a liver patient they can't give to Mattie because she has kidney and liver problems.  She is getting tired of being sick and ready to start school on Tuesday.  We had a long talk on the way home from New Orleans last night that God won't give her anything she can't handle.  This is sometimes hard for a 14 year old to grasp, but she understands.  She craves to be normal.  I told her this is our normal and we will continue to see the blessings along the way.  Please pray this is a dehydration issue and not a kidney issue.  We will be drinking lots and lots this weekend and praying.  Thanks as always to all of our prayer warriors!  Remember God is Good ALL the time!  Keep the prayers coming.