In the car, about an hour into our drive home from our appointment with Dr. Wonderful:
Me: “So. That wasn’t so bad. Right?”
Julian: “Well, hearing about our kids’ kidney failure doesn’t shock us anymore.”
Me: “Yeah, your right…the words Acute Kidney Failure just don’t have the same sting they used to.”
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Edited to add later:
Quinn is exactly where we thought she was relating to kidney function. That high BUN (over 9 months) has all docs perplexed. Dr. Wonderful wants some other tests done (like thyroid) just to rule out anything else. Like Dr. Kind here, she can’t predict the rate of the kidney failure, but did remind us that her rate of kidney failure isn’t necessarily the same as Gage’s.
No matter how many times I ask and no matter how many different ways I pose the question, there isn’t a doctor that will predict when Quinn will need a transplant. Dang.
Julian and I are, however, not above guessing. I think within a year that we will be discussing being referred to transplant evaluation. Julian is at about a year and a half.
Am thinking of starting a family pool to see who can guess the closest on timing!
See…we’re pros.
But still. The kidney failure thing sucks. Quinn is very, very fatigued. She’s started the renal failure itching bouts that were so famous with Gage (though not as bad), and her growth has slowed a bit. Her chronically ill child status on the inside officially matches the outside now.
I guess we’re glad Quinn has the experience of Gage’s transplant to look back on and realize that she will be fine. She knows that Gage had dialysis, a transplant, came home to recover, goes to the hospital a lot for labs and that he is okay. This is what is her reality and I’m happy that is what she believes in her 6 year old brain.
And while, for certain, this time is easier for me because I can anticipate some things that will happen, it is not easier on me in many, many ways. For starters, Quinn and Gage are different (obviously) on how they will process this experience. Her disease may be different enough to be perplexing like her current labs. And I fear our good kidney karma has been used up on Gage.
Quinny B. My girl.
I fear for her.
