December 22nd: I woke up with a 104° temperature for the fourth day in a row. Even though it goes right down each time after some Infant Tylenol, Daddy decides to call the doctors. He makes an appointment for noon that day. We're supposed to go to Grandpa and Grandma's for Early Christmas with some relatives that afternoon. We'll just have to see.
We show up at the doctor's office, and they look me over. On the bright side, I'm still growing well. They decide to take a little blood sample from my finger, to rule out some possibilities. I don't like having my finger stuck ONE BIT! But it's over pretty quickly. Unfortunately, they get a result that they had hoped they wouldn't get. It seems that I may have a Urinary Tract Infection -- unusual for a girl my age, but not entirely unheard-of. This means that they'll need to run more tests. Need more blood -- this time, Daddy holds me down while they find a vein in my arm and draw what seems like an awful lot of cc's of blood. Not only that, but they need a urine sample. Daddy holds me down some more, while they "catheterize" me. I'm no more excited about this than you think I'd be, but it's over soon.
The tests confirm it; Urinary Tract Infection (or UTI, in the parlance of the office). They'll try to get a culture from my urine sample. This will take a few days. However, the first step is a MASSIVE antibiotic injection -- Daddy holds me down for the 4th intrusion of the day. Oh, yes, the kicker: standard policy these days is to test for reflux between the bladder and kidneys. If there's reflux, then there's danger of any UTI's also infecting the kidneys. Dr. Waller sets up an appointment to have me checked out; a procedure called a VCUG (click the acronym for a description of the procedure). This is gonna mean another catheter, whoo boy!
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We finally get to leave the office around 1:45. In the time that we've been there, the gentle rain has turned to snow in BIG FLUFFY FLAKES. We slip-n-slide home, then collect Mommy and Suzie and go to Grandpa and Grandma's. I take a short nap there, and when I wake up I'm more like myself. I'm still a little tired, though. |
After a few days, we get the happy news: the bacteria that they cultured from my urine is resistant to the oral antibiotic that was prescribed for me. Daddy gets to go to the pharmacy and pay for a stronger, nastier one. I get to take it for 8 days. I dislike each dose.
Friday, January 11th: the big day is here. Daddy gets off work early and shows up at home to take me on my adventure to Minneapolis Children's hospital. After a few false starts, he finds the Radiology department.
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They have toys to distract me. It's my naptime (and I got up early today), so I'm a little touchy but basically okay. |
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I'm a little intimidated by the machine over my head, and the way they're holding me down, but a little bottle goes a long way. Daddy's a little nervous, 'cos he only brought the one. He tries to keep me from drinking too much, because when this one's empty, he's out of tricks! |
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So! There's my bladder, full of the "contrast material", as they call it. |
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As you can see here, it's NOT backing up into my kidneys. |
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Now, it's time to pull out the catheter (ouch!) and try to convince me to relax and pee. |
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Nearly empty, no problems. |
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The ultrasound tech was delayed, then delayed, then delayed again, then delayed again. This part was supposed to happen first. She had a look at the size and position of my kidneys, and said that everything looked just fine. (She also thought that Stella was a beautiful name, and she liked my smile!) |
I got home and took a well-deserved nap. Everything's fine, except for the ticket Daddy got for the expired parking meter. (Who knew that we'd be there for 2 1/2 hours?)