UCLA in downtown L.A.

(Doesn't May look like a little gangsta rap star? Tweetie's in da house!)
We made a trip back to UCLA this past Friday and found that it is MUCH easier and quicker to make an apt.later in the day and drive from home than it is to make one early in the morning and drive there from Corona. We have also found that most people get a bit confused when they read May's name and pronounce it "May- lissa" rather than the intended "May-leesa". We thought that it would be good with only one "s" in the spelling, but perhaps not.
Aside from all this and the friendliness of the doctors there, we found out that May would definitely need surgery before the end of her first year. It was even more fully explained what was wrong with her right kidney. Read on if you are interested in a more detailed explanation.
Her right kidney seems to have wanted a third kidney on top of itself. It sort of has a half kidney on the top of the whole one. The whole kidney and the half kidney both have ureters leading to the bladder. The top half kidney is the one that is collecting abnormal amounts of urine. Kidneys usually have a lot of "meat" and a small reservoir on the inside. This half kidney is almost all reservoir- not so good, but not immediately alarming. There is also a swelling in the lining of the bladder called a ureterocele. This just means that the lining is sort of ballooning in a way that is possibly obstructing the connections of the ureters to the bladder. This swelling could be caused by the improper connection of the upper right ureter to the bladder. The fluid in the kidney could be a back up caused by this possible obstruction or it could be caused by a reflux that happens when the bladder contracts tp push urine down the urethra (the tube leading out of the body).
They are going to schedule a painful test for her in Nov. that will require a catheter to be inserted up the urethra to pump a small amount of dye into the bladder. They will take ultra sounds while her bladder fills and empties to determine whether or not there is a reflux problem. Sometime after she is 3 mo.s old, they will schedule a test requiring sedation that will allow them to take X-rays which are much clearer pictures. These will help them to determine which sort of surgery she will need- one to remove the half kidney all together, or one to fix the reflux and dilated ureter (the dilation being what causes the improper connection to the bladder and leading to the swelling). She will get this surgery most likely by next summer (during which time Chris will be gone) and though this is not a fatal situation, there are things to watch out for and she is taking antibiotics until further notice. 3ml each day (this is quite a large dose for a baby and we have yet to learn how to get her to swallow all of it and keep it down.) Please pray that I will remember to feel for swelling each day and that I will be able to give her the antibiotics each day. Surgery on the kidneys is always a big surgery requiring a recovery much like a C-section. It will be fine- but it will be painful for her and she will not be able to speak to me yet. Pray for us both as we approach this ordeal that I have never faced before? How does one help an infant recover from surgery like that?
Hopefully there will be more fun posts to follow these ones that don't seem like much fun for blogging to me.