Surgical Follow Ups 4/20

It was a leisurely morning, but a busy day. For once, we were able to have breakfast before heading off to our first appointment - a renal ultrasound at 10 am. Alan got upset as we crossed the skybridge from the hotel to the main hospital building. This was the icky place where he gets poked, starved, and prodded. We promised him no owies today, but he's no sucker - he knew at minimum he'd be stuck sitting around all day long.

As usual, he was pretty happy once the ultrasound started. He even started seeing letters in the ultrasound images (this boy is obsessed with his ABCs!). There was a little confusion as they called us back after we thought they were done. The doctor wanted a look at Alan "live", but it didn't take very long, and we left with the knowledge that she did not see any hydronephrosis. Yay!

Doc L was happy to report that the x-rays and MRI did not show anything. She was very pleased to see Alan so active and to hear how he's been getting around. We had a lot of questions on details of how his leg had been re-attached and what some of the implications of the amputation would be. We wanted to understand the range of motion his leg should have now, and how the loss of hip could affect his body as he grows. The bladder has shifted into the space and Doc L will be keeping an eye on his spine to be sure it doesn't curve. We had not really had the time or attention to give to these questions until now. There has been some swelling of the ankle on his bad leg which had us a little concerned, but Doc L was not worried. It's not unusual after the extensive surgery he's had to have some swelling come and go, but we will continue to monitor it. Otherwise we don't need to come back for another three months. Yay!

Finally, we headed over to the Children's Clinic to see Doc HJ. We finished with Doc L early, so Alan got to play in the Child Life room. He had a great time painting, smooshing all the colours together. He painted four pictures before we got called and was not pleased when he had to stop. Doc HJ was very happy with the results she saw from the ultrasound this morning. As long as Alan doesn't have any strange creatinine levels in his blood test (she wants Doc P to let her know ASAP if that's the case), she won't need to see us for another six months! Yay!

A lot of "Yays!" today! Yay!


Alan had a great time painting!