Celia's long and scary hospital stay was followed up a few weeks later with a VCUG (voiding cystogram) at St. Francis in Peoria, Illinois. [Please check out this link to better understand the procedure: http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=voidcysto]. After the VCUG was performed (not without tears from both Celia and Mommy), we headed over to Pediatric Urology Group.
It was at this appointment that we met one of the most intelligent and surgically skilled people in the world, Dr. Churphena Reid. Dr. Reid is one of the TOP 10 pediatric urologists IN THE WORLD (not just in my opinion...she is actually ranked in the top 10!). After all she has done for our children, she is basically elevated to Saint status in our house. [Check her out here: http://www.pediatricurologygroup.com/ped_reid.php].
Dr. Reid straightforwardly explained exactly what was wrong with our 2 year old daughter: bi-lateral vesicoureteral reflux. In simple terms, bi-lateral means both sides (both of her ureters/kidneys) and vesicoureteral reflux is a fancy way of saying: urine backs up into her ureters and kidneys from her bladder instead of flowing down and out of her body via her urethra. There are 5 different stages of this disease. Celia had stage 3 on one side and stage 4 on the other. Dr. Reid explained that this disorder used to be the #1 cause of girls dying of kidney failure (back before we were lucky enough to have modern medicine!). Surgery was the only option to correct the reflux, which would in turn stop further kidney damage (enlargement, scarring, preserving kidney function) and UTIs.
We could see how enlarged her kidneys and ureters were from the tests. This was also causing frequent bladder and kidney infections for our sweet little girl. To prevent further UTIs until the surgery, Dr. Reid prescribed a prophylactic dose of antibiotics for Celia to take daily.
Working together with Dr. Reid, we all decided that scheduling surgery in the next few weeks was the best course of action. Dr. Reid sent us home with educational materials to peruse. Celia's surgery was scheduled for early June, 2011 at St. Francis Medical Center Children's Hospital in Peoria, Illinois.
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