More doctors

Monday we went to Harper's two week appointment.  I mentioned to the doctor that during my stay in the hospital they did several ultrasounds, and they saw some extra fluid on her kidney.  Dr. Hanes felt it necessary to do a repeat ultrasound to rule anything out and get some peace of mind from what the prenatal ultrasounds found. 

Today we went to the hospital to get an ultrasound.  I also delivered some pumpkin spice brownies to the labor and delivery floor for all my nurses. The ultrasound went by easily.  I expected there to be lots of screaming from Harper, but they did such a great job trying to keep her warm and comfortable.  The ultrasound technician told us what they were looking for.  She explained that if they saw something alarming they would ask us to stay, but if they did see anything too alarming that I should hear back from my doctor within a few days.  

I received a phone call at 4:00 this afternoon from Dr. Hanes office.  My phone was in the car, so I missed it.  I listened to the message and it was Dr. Hanes herself.  I took this as not a great sign, so I immediately called back. 

Dr. Hanes and the radiologist  seem to think that Harper only has one kidney.  They think that in the prenatal ultrasounds the extra fluid they were seeing was due to the fact that the one kidney is enlarged.  Today, they could not find her second kidney.  It could be there, but likely if it is there it is much smaller/underdeveloped.  In the prenatal ultrasounds there were shadows where the other kidney is supposed to be, so it was missed.  This is not uncommon.  Ultrasounds can be tricky and shadows appear.  If I would have been able to see the high risk specialist while in the hospital we might have seen this before but that would not change anything.

We will be referred to a specialist who will run more tests and give us an idea of what to expect.  Dr. Hanes explained a lot of what to expect.  It was sudden and unexpected news, so I wasn't prepared with questions, which are now forming in our heads.  We go back to Dr. Hanes in a few weeks, and hopefully we will have seen the specialist by then.

Thanks for following our story and keep this on your prayer list.    Dr. Hanes said that although it is not common for this to happen, it is not rare either. I know two young boys that were born with only one kidney and they are healthy. People can live a healthy life with only one kidney.  It is just different when it is your own child, and you just want to do anything possible for them to be healthy!