Stephen's vendor showed up at Scansource unexpectedly today so he was not able to get away to see the urologist this afternoon. The appointment has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, June 1st at 2:30 pm.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Urologist Appointment Rescheduled
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
IVP
Stephen described the IVP as one of the strangest feelings he's ever had. The dye shooting through his veins made him feel like his insides were melting and he almost threw up at one point. Thankfully, it wasn't painful for him, just weird.
Tomorrow is his appointment with the urologist (at 2:10 pm) to review the results. If he still needs the procedure, they'll schedule it tomorrow.
Stephen commented that he has not been having as much discomfort lately, so maybe he's already passed the stones. And the CD they gave him doesn't appear to have visible "spots" anywhere, but we're not radiologists, so we'll wait and see what the doctor says.
Thank you for your concern and for your prayers.
Tomorrow is his appointment with the urologist (at 2:10 pm) to review the results. If he still needs the procedure, they'll schedule it tomorrow.
Stephen commented that he has not been having as much discomfort lately, so maybe he's already passed the stones. And the CD they gave him doesn't appear to have visible "spots" anywhere, but we're not radiologists, so we'll wait and see what the doctor says.
Thank you for your concern and for your prayers.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Kidney Stones
Stephen had his very first kidney stone attack on Sydney's birthday, Sunday, April 11th. We were eating lunch at Boston Pizzeria and he went to the bathroom and never came out. We weren't sure what was happening at first but ended up at an emergency clinic and the doctor said, based on the symptoms Stephen was describing, that Stephen may have a large stone that was not able to pass. He recommended a CT Scan, but we chose not to do that, thinking we'd give it time to pass before we paid for an expensive test. We left the emergency clinic armed with a nausea and pain medication, which Stephen carried in his pocket at all times.
Several days later, Stephen had his second attack but the medicine seemed to kick in after about an hour. Two-and-a-half weeks passed with no pain or discomfort, so we assumed he'd passed it.
The next attack hit on his flight home from a business trip. The pain meds were locked in the overhead bins. He suffered terrible pain and when he got home he was out-for-the-count. He had another attack from about midnight until about 6 am, and this time the pain medicine was not cutting it.
We called our primary care doctor and she recommended a CT scan. The scan revealed he has large stones that are lodged in his urinary tract. He was given a prescription for Flomax, a medication that would open up his ureter and make the stones more likely to pass. He was also given another pain medication that is apparently very potent and can only be taken for about 5 days before it causes internal bleeding. We hoped, of course, the stones would pass during that time period, but they have not.
Stephen saw a urologist last week and had another x-ray. Stephen's stones are large and stones this size only pass 20% of the time. The urologist ordered an Intravenous Pyleogram (IVP), which is an X-ray they'll do after injecting a dye into Stephen's kidney. Once they have verified the exact location of the stones then they will schedule him for a stone-removal procedure.
The procedure will require general anesthesia because they will go through his urinary tract to blast the stones with a laser. The kidney may swell so they will then put in a urinary stent to help urine drain from the kidney to the bladder. Five days later he will have the stent removed.
Stephen's IVP is at 9:00 tomorrow morning. He will then see the urologist again to schedule the procedure. I'll keep you updated as we learn more. We are praying that the stones would pass before then but are trusting God to do whatever is best. Your prayers are coveted.
Several days later, Stephen had his second attack but the medicine seemed to kick in after about an hour. Two-and-a-half weeks passed with no pain or discomfort, so we assumed he'd passed it.
The next attack hit on his flight home from a business trip. The pain meds were locked in the overhead bins. He suffered terrible pain and when he got home he was out-for-the-count. He had another attack from about midnight until about 6 am, and this time the pain medicine was not cutting it.
We called our primary care doctor and she recommended a CT scan. The scan revealed he has large stones that are lodged in his urinary tract. He was given a prescription for Flomax, a medication that would open up his ureter and make the stones more likely to pass. He was also given another pain medication that is apparently very potent and can only be taken for about 5 days before it causes internal bleeding. We hoped, of course, the stones would pass during that time period, but they have not.
Stephen saw a urologist last week and had another x-ray. Stephen's stones are large and stones this size only pass 20% of the time. The urologist ordered an Intravenous Pyleogram (IVP), which is an X-ray they'll do after injecting a dye into Stephen's kidney. Once they have verified the exact location of the stones then they will schedule him for a stone-removal procedure.
The procedure will require general anesthesia because they will go through his urinary tract to blast the stones with a laser. The kidney may swell so they will then put in a urinary stent to help urine drain from the kidney to the bladder. Five days later he will have the stent removed.
Stephen's IVP is at 9:00 tomorrow morning. He will then see the urologist again to schedule the procedure. I'll keep you updated as we learn more. We are praying that the stones would pass before then but are trusting God to do whatever is best. Your prayers are coveted.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Purim Party
We studied the story of Esther for school and had a Purim party with the Fuller girls. We read the story to them then told the girls' to use their noisemakers every time we read the name, "Haman". The girls made Hamentashen cookies that are supposed to look like Haman's 3-cornered hat, or some say, his ears.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Christmas 2009
I got a new camera for Christmas (thank you, Stephen) so I'll let the photos tell the story of our day.
abby. ready to open gifts.
brody. his first train present of the day.
stephen. intently opening.
brody. actually opening.
abby. excited about her summer dress.
abby. posing by her stocking.
sydney. getting in on the action.
stephen. posing, too.
sydney and abby hugging after opening the stocking gifts they gave each other.
sydney's stocking gift from abby.
abby's new snowhat from nana.
stephen. posing at lunch.
brody. rolling around on the floor.
stephen and dody catching up.
sydney. with her chocolate covered pretzel.
pop. just a pic of pop.
brody. smiling first then wondering what in the world i was holding.
pop and sydney. singing. playing.
stephen. out. katherine. messing.
sydney. opening more.
brody. hammering.
brody. crying.
brody. still crying.
brody. still crying but getting Leslie's "tar" back and not realizing it.
brody. settled in with Leslie's guitar.
brody. happy as a clam with the guitar. leslie gave it to him.
(sorry I didn't take the time to rotate)
sydney and brody. trying to coax the cat out. unsuccessfully.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Enrich Showcase
Last night was a Showcase for the home school co-op, Enrich. The first graders were supposed to perform but cancelled at the last minute. Greta Fuller and I talked our daughters, Abby and Ella, into singing a duet. They practiced after Enrich and pulled off a wonderful rendition of Jingle Bells. Stephen emceed the event. It was a lot of fun.
Monday, December 7, 2009
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