Children's Hospital

Today was an adventure for the whole family. Torin had an appointment at Children's Hospital Boston to get a couple of tests done and see a urologist. After having a second UTI a month ago, our pediatrician decided he should see a specialist to see if there was an underlying cause. UTIs are relatively uncommon in kids, and even more so in boys, so the fact that he had 2 and is under 2 is rare. We were given a recommendation for this doctor by my cousin Kristin, who is a nurse and worked at Children's so I felt confident about taking him there with such a sensitive area of his body and procedures that would no doubt be a bit invasive. I wasn't about to take him to someone who normally works on adults and just happened to pull his card in the morning. Nope. No way. The people at Children's are the best, and only work on children all day. They know what they are doing and it was completely worth the trip into Boston.
Erik and Keagan came in with us and then went off to the Children's museum together to spend the morning, while I took Torin to two tests and to see the doctor. We weren't about to have Keagan sit through all the waiting and see his brother have to go through these things. It wasn't exactly fun for anyone, but I was so glad to have Erik's help on the drive into town and getting us settled at the hospital.
The first test for Torin was an ultrasound. That wasn't too bad. He made it through without crying. It didn't hurt, of course, it was just odd for someone to be pushing on his abdomen with the wand. He didn't like when she wanted him to lay flat on his stomach- he kept wanting to curl his knees up under him, but we got through it. The result from that was all ok. Normal kidneys, normal bladder. Phew!
The second test was the one that I dreaded. They needed to test the flow of urine out of the kidneys and into the bladder and out of the body. This involved a catheter being inserted, a dyed fluid injected, and then xrays taken to watch the flow. Torin was _amazing_ for the catheter being inserted. They had fun toys for him to play with and Elmo on a little portable DVD player right by his head while he was laying on the xray table. He barely squirmed for the catheter and just kind of looked at me like "what are they doing to me", which of course broke my heart, but we both got through it. The problem later was that he wouldn't pee! They need to watch him pee to get the information they need and he let a little out and they were all excited, but he then wouldn't release his bladder (which they pumped full- super comfy I'm sure) because I think it stung when he let the little bit out (you know, from being catheterized and all) and so he didn't want to let more out. This involved lots of crying and trying to coax him to pee. It took about 15 minutes till he finally released it with a big scream. Oy. But in true Torin style, he was smiling and laughing with the nurses as soon as I had him dressed, and of course, when they gave him a big mylar balloon.
The results of that test were that he has urine reflux, meaning that some urine is going back up into his kidneys from his bladder. On a scale of 1-5, in severity (5 being worst) his is about a 2-3. This condition isn't great because it can lead to UTIs and when he does get a UTI the risk of infection in his kidney is a very real and scary one. A UTI is one thing, a kidney infection is a whole other ball of wax, and one that you don't want a little toddler to have. Sigh.
After that ordeal we went up to meet with the doctor. And of course, he had on his computer all the results of everything done that morning and he showed me the xrays, which they play in order to make a sort of movie of the urine flow. I could clearly see the reflux happening. He advised that we keep Torin on a low-dose antibiotic indefinitely and repeat the test in 18 months. The most likely scenario is that his body will correct this problem as he grows. I am hoping we will only have to go through this once more and they will say he's outgrown it. But time will tell.
When we got back down to the lobby to wait for Keagan and Erik to return, Torin passed out in my arms. I have to say, it was the best part of the morning. To feel his little body relax against me while I snuggled him is one of the best feelings I've had as a parent. Just knowing the trust and safety they feel in your arms is amazing. Erik came back and pulled the car around for us and we were off for home. I was again so grateful to have Erik to drive because I was not in the best shape to navigate Boston streets by that point.
We'll keep you posted on Torin's progress! But hopefully there won't be much to tell for 18 months.