Update!!!

Hello Family & Friends!!

I know it has been a long time since I have wrote on here. It has been very busy in our household. Let me start off with Easter.
Easter= was great. We had a great time on Saturday with my parents, brother and sister. We enjoyed the day up here at our house. It was georgous. After a dinner of prime rib, we headed outside to hunt those easter eggs. Their baskets were over flowing. After that we played two games of croquet. It was a blast. On Sunday we headed for Pompeys Pillar to have lunch with Beau's family. The girls played with all of their cousins and we got to see family members that we haven't seen a while. Beau's aunt and family made the girls (actually each kid)these wonderful easter baskets. They hunted so many eggs. We still have a ton of candy sitting here on my desk. Later on that day Beau took the kids out and they flew kites. It was fun to watch them figure out how it worked.

Next item= My doctor's appointment. I went in for my April appointment on the 15th. I had to take the glucose test. Where you fast for 3 hours then take a glucose drink a hour before your appointment. Then they check your blood to see if it has to much sugar init or if it falls within the range. I totally blew the test. The max range is 140 and I was 173. So I was instructed to take the 3 hour test. I went the next Monday (Beau has Monday's off)and headed for the lab. I had to fast from 10:00 p.m. the night before. As soon as I got there they took a fasting blood. Then I had to drink a very strong glucose drink and have blood drawn every hour after that. It was no fun. I learned that I don't recover well from that sort of test. Afterwards I met up with Beau and the girls (who by the way was out shopping) and we ate. I din't get any food until 11:30 by the time we were done shopping. I was miserable. The next day I recieved my results and failed 2 of the 4categories and barely passed the other 2. They labled me as being have gestational diabetes. I had to meet with a lady in the diabetic center. She went over all the foods I can eat and how much of each one. I have to test my blood using this cute little monitor she gave me 4 times a day. My fingers are sore. Once before I eat anything in the morning and each time two hours after each meal. It is hard learning how much you can have of something. Hopefully the diet will take care of the problem. If it doesn't then the next step is to have insulin. Gestational diabetes affects the baby in two ways. For most women with gestational diabetes, the main worry is that too much glucose will end up in the baby's blood. When that happens, your baby's pancreas needs to produce more insulin to process the extra glucose. All this excess blood sugar and insulin can cause your baby to make more fat and put on extra weight, particularly in the upper body. This can lead to what's called macrosomia. A macrosomic baby may be too large to enter the birth canal. Although the baby may weigh more than normal, its organs develope at regular growth. I may have an 11 pound baby but it may be premature. Shortly after delivery, my baby may also have low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) because his body will still be producing extra insulin in response to receiving extra glucose from me. Your delivery team will test his blood sugar at birth by taking a drop of blood from his heel. If it's low, you'll want to feed him as soon as possible, either by breastfeeding or giving him some formula or sugar water. (In severe cases of hypoglycemia, he might be given an IV glucose solution.) We hope that none of this happens and I am very carefully about following dr's orders.

Third item= Gracie had her VCUG test on the 28th. That is where they checked to see if any of the urine was refluxing back into the kidneys. We checked in at 7:00 in the morning at Surgery Plus. From there we headed back up to pediatrics so she could see the dr. He checked her over and order the sedation. We had our own nurse named Wendy who stayed with Gracie the whole time. The sedation drug was given oral and as the dr said was like a very good drunk so when she came out of it she wouldn't remember anything. Maybe bits and pieces. Once the drug took hold we headed off to Radiology. Beau went in with Gracie and Paige and I headed for breakfast. The nurse inseted a catheter and they filled the bladder with solution and watched on xrays as the solution refluxed back into her kidneys. After the procedure was done everyone headed back up to Pediatrics where we waited for the drug to wear off. We got the results that afternoon and learned that she had a grade 3 on her left. Grade III Vesicoureteral Reflux:urine refluxes all the way up the ureter with dilatation of the ureter and calyces (part of the kidney where urine collects) and a grade 1 on her right. Grade I Vesicoureteral Reflux: urine (shown in blue) refluxes part-way up the ureter. Her pediatrician notified the specialist and now we are waiting to hear from him. Usually there is 2 ways of taking care of the problem, either with surgery (where they would put in a stint) or with long term antibotics. I will keep you posted on how everything turns out.

I hope this letter finds everyone in better shape than us. LOL. Beau told me that it is a good thing that I don't work and can stay home and manage everything. Until next time.

Love and Care
Kuntz's