So this morning was a little tricky, but went off without a hitch. Peyton got to his bus stop on time, Carter was at his on time, Ryan made it to work and Zachary and I were only marginally late for our Sick Kids appointment. Not that it really matters...as you only get there to hurry up and wait. :)
So here goes the good news...Zachary does not need to stay on catheters!!! Wow like music to my ears. He still needs the ditropan to help relax his bladder, but he is not at any risk of hurting his kidneys. His bladder doesn't have the strength to keep pee in there long enough for it to be pushed back up. Fantastic...
On to the not so fun news. His type of neurogenic bladder means the muscle is too weak to store pee. And if you can't store pee, you pee your pants...
So while he is in diapers, this is not an issue, he can pee whenever he likes. But as you can figure, as he gets older he will need some sort of bladder control. The only way to provide him with this is to surgically close his bladder and then it would be emptied by a catheter. BOO.
So while they are not necessary now, they will most likely be part of his life forever. Gulp...another emotional pill to swallow. But hopefully the time I have to digest that one, it won't be so bad when we go through it...
That being said, we are still going to catheterize him once or twice a day so he is used to it when the time comes. But I feel better about this and don't feel the same pressure as I did 3 months ago when we first had to go on them.
So we have about 3 years for a miracle to happen and restore that little muscle in his bladder (oh as well as his bowels). And good thing I believe in a Big God! :)
A little side note...as the Dr was talking to me about his bladder and everything, I was asking questions and answering questions, he looked at me and asked if I had some sort of medical background. LOL, I told him my Mom is a nurse and I just seem to retain too much knowledge. I thought that was a pretty big compliment coming from a specialist. I guess I'm in the wrong field being a banker! lol :) But you can just call me Dr. Wood!
Yay for good appointments! :) I know it's hard to hear news for the future that you're not wanting to hear - I feel the same way when I think of Jet's bladder/bowel situation right now. It sounds like Zachary and Jet have the same diagnosis - we are not having to cath right now -but that weak bladder isn't good for future continence/control. It's hard - and I appreciated your comment on having some time to "swallow" that pill.. and that when it comes time hopefully we'll be ready. I just remind myself to be thankful for what we are blessed with and to just keep praying that God will heal and help us along the way. :) Thank you for your post!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad things went so well. We were at Sick Kids today - they should get our appointments straightened out to save on gas and parking!
ReplyDeleteNick's bladder is the opposite - big and lazy - so it looks like cathing is in our future indefinately. I'm only starting to get my head around that one - so it will come! I think still cathing to get him/you used to it is a good idea as long as no UTI's.
As a fellow daughter of a nurse - yes you do retain alot of info!