2 years ago today...

...this beautiful little boy made his way into the world. Happy Birthday, my darling boy. Mummy and Daddy would be lost without you.

xxx

This and that

We got Ron back from the vet's office last week and he finally has a diagnosis, after the vet conferred with specialists in Utrecht. He has the following:

Kidney infection
Chronic renal failure
Kidney stone

The last two have been steadily damaging his kidneys for some time. The stone has enlarged one kidney and the chronic renal failure has made the other smaller. The vet cannot risk removing the stone, because he needs to preserve what little kidney function remains - cutting into it would cause too much permanent damage. The presence of the stone is a problem because it makes it very difficult to completely cure the kidney infection. The bacteria thrives within the stone. The intended treatment plan is an extended course of antibiotics, a special diet and medication for the chronic renal failure. The vet, after much nudging, estimated that Ron has perhaps another two years of life. It could be longer if he responds well to the medication, it could be shorter if we can't protect him from further kidney infections. He seems to be stable right now so we're hoping for the best. I'm going to have to call the breeder who sold Harry and Ron to us. She needs to know that two of the litter have developed chronic renal failure very young. Ron's treatment so far has cost in the region of 750 euro. To anyone reading this contemplating getting a cat or dog, make sure you get them insured. Fortunately, Ron is insured and we can agree to whatever care the vet thinks is necessary.

Now... news about the baby. Baby O is exactly where he was when I last posted and with no sign of planning to leave. I had a midwife appointment this morning, and he is measuring around 4.2kg (9lb), so exactly what Michael weighed when he was born. Baby O has a lot of amniotic fluid around him which is unusual for this stage, but great for him. He can move around much more freely than most babies at full term. He has been exercising this privilege by spinning around and causing me considerable pain. At my midwife appointment two weeks ago, he was facing to the right. Last week, he was facing to the left. Today, he is facing to the right again. Goodness knows where he'll be tomorrow but I feel black and blue inside. His due date is tomorrow, 08/08/08 - such a fabulous date, but I don't think there is any chance of him being punctual. For the last 3 weeks I have been convinced that he'd be early - shows what I know!

Michael has been pretty miserable for the last week due to the teething and is steadily wandering into the 'terrible twos'. It is his birthday next Tuesday and we hope to make the day special for him with presents and a little family party. We haven't been able to organise anything more elaborate because we have no idea when Baby O will be born. One thing is certain - I'll be keeping my legs firmly crossed on Tuesday. Michael might never forgive me if he has to share his birthday with his little brother.

I think that's all for now. Perhaps the next time I post will be with a birth announcement..?

Poll added

Inspired by a historical biography I'm reading. State your opinion on tax-collectors and appropriate punishment.

Ron again

We went to visit Ron this afternoon and although he looks much improved, the information I received was less positive. It seems the information Phil got from the nurse yesterday wasn't completely accurate. Firstly, there is evidence of kidney damage in the kidney that has the stone. The stone is of a significant size. Despite the fact that the ultrasound showed no damage to the other kidney, it cannot be functioning properly. One healthy kidney should have been able to keep Ron's system stable, regardless of the damage to the other kidney. The vet is continuing with the hydrotherapy and is also giving Ron antibiotics in case a kidney infection is present. More blood will be taken tomorrow and hopefully the creatinine level will be much closer to normal. At this point, the vet cannot give us a clear diagnosis. More research will be done based on Ron's blood results and an expert will be consulted on Monday. One thing that greatly concerns me is that he might have chronic renal failure, just like Harry, and that is why his kidney could not cope when the other one starting reacting to the stone.

Unfortunately there is nothing we can do but wait and see. The vet's office is very quiet at the weekend and that must be so strange for Ron. He lives in a house with three loud humans and three loud cats. He looked quite reproachful at being kept in a cage and I take that as a good sign - he is definitely much better than he was on Wednesday night.

Ron

We nearly lost this beautiful little bundle of fur this week. On Wednesday night I noticed that Ron wasn't looking well. His coat wasn't well groomed and his third eyelid was visible. When he walked, his back legs seemed stiff. Alarm bells started ringing in my head because that is how Harry was when he started displaying symptoms of chronic renal failure. An appointment was made with our excellent local vet the next day and the news wasn't good. His creatinine level was 500 (normal is 100) and his white blood cell count was raised. One kidney was enlarged. The vet suspected a kidney infection and kept Ron in overnight on an IV drip. He intended to scan Ron's kidneys this morning and prepared us for the possibility of putting him down if the kidney damage was extensive.


I worried myself into a soggy mess overnight until we heard back from the vet at lunchtime. The news was thankfully good. His creatinine level had gone down to 300 overnight and the ultrasound showed no kidney damage at all - only the presence of a single kidney stone which could well have been the cause of all the trouble. The vet can't yet rule out the possibility of a kidney infection or another cause, but we have every reason to be optimistic. Ron will remain on an IV at the vet's office through the weekend and the vet will discuss with an expert whether the kidney stone should be removed. Obviously, that can't happen now as he is too weak. We're going to the vet's office tomorrow to give Ron a big cuddle. My poor little Ron - I can't believe how close we came to losing him, and all because of a little kidney stone. I shudder to think what would have happened if his illness had coincided with the baby being born. Phil and I would have been running round like headless chickens. Would we have noticed Ron getting sicker and sicker? I sincerely hope so, but it makes me feel sick to think about it.

Get well soon, beautiful Ron. Xinx is lost without you.

Relieved!

Baby O is finally head-down. I had my midwife appointment yesterday and she thought he was head-down and engaged but suspected he had got his legs into an odd position. Given his history of being a twisty turny little monkey, she sent me for a scan this morning to confirm. He is indeed head-down and engaged and in the optimum position for labour. The big painful lump on the side of my bump that I thought was a head is in fact his knee. I really should have twigged that he had engaged because I've been finding it incredibly difficult to walk since Sunday. On Saturday I was fine, and on Sunday I was hobbling around like a little old lady. I can't put into words how relieved I am. In the last week or so I've been reading up on caesarean births in an effort to prepare myself and learning of the hospital stay, recovery time and physical limitations was very alarming. I've never been separated from Michael and being away from him for 4 nights, and then not being able to lift him, would be horrible. The midwife also tried to estimate Baby O's birth weight and she believes that he will be about the same weight as Michael was (4+kg). The words she used were "this will not be a small baby". I was very glad to hear that because Gleghorn babies are not supposed to be small.

Now that my major worries have been dealt with, I can get on with enjoying the last few weeks of it being just me and Michael at home during the day. He's recently started doing the most adorable thing to get my attention. He'll gently cup my face in his hands and turn it to look at him. Who could resist that? Considering all the wiles a toddler can employ to get attention, I consider myself very blessed. He is obsessed with tractors at the moment and wants me to sing the theme tune to "Little Red Tractor" all.the.time. If he can be holding a toy tractor whilst I am singing it then so much better. Janny, my doula, bought him a Duplo tractor last week and he adores it. My mum has also bought him one for his birthday so he is a very lucky boy indeed.

Bird of the day

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Blue-footed Booby.