17 Month - Nate Update

On the 20th, Nate turned 17 months. We are so blessed to be the parents of this sweet little boy. He is starting to make huge headways in his development. He is finally holding his own with his big sister, and is becoming quite the chatterbox. He will attempt to say anything you ask him to. Gentry got him to say the name of  her cat the other day (Fee-bo). He wants to do EVERYTHING himself, just like his sissy which also causes him to get a few extra bruises here and there.

 On the 20th, we also had Nate's kidney check with his pediatric nephrologist. Up until this appointment, we have always had good news to share. Unfortunately, this appointment was our first that seemed to have more not so good news. Nate's kidney functions are going down. In September, his kidneys were functioning at 59% which is pretty much average for the last year or so. With this round of bloodwork, he has dropped to 53%. This is a pretty big drop for his age. We are beginning him on a medication that will naturally decrease his kidney functions, but we had not given him this medication at that time, so there is no medication to blame for the numbers. (We have started that medication since then, so we will probably see another decrease in the next round of numbers.) We will also be needing to add some calories to his diet. We have to be careful what to give him though, since his kidenys can not take certain foods. The nutrionist came in to speak with us and said to add things like cream cheese, olive oil, sour cream and peanut butter to his diet. Also we are hoping our insurance will cover a drink similar to Pediasure or Ensure, but for people with kidney disease. The drink is called Suplina and it cost about $3.00 per can, so we are hoping and praying that they can persuade the insurance to assist us with some of the cost. He is also starting Vitamin D, which will be a lifelong vitamin for him from here on out. With all these new numbers, the doctor now predicting a need for a kidney transplant a little sooner than originally estimated. He quoted by age 8; however, this is just a guess. Since September was his last "good" blood work, he says that next September he will be able to use a formula to calculate his numbers and to accurately predict that for sure.

We know this little guys is a fighter and we have a HUGE support system that loves him and would do anything for him. (I keep bugging the doctor to allow us to start testing our family for possible matches and he keeps looking at me strange. Gotta try, right?) Thank you for your continued prayers. We know he is in the Lord's hands along with so many people's hearts. Merry Christmas to you all!

Reagan