Very Bittersweet Day

Hooray, it's my birthday....41....YUCK.! I never pictured myself being 40ish. The wrinkles are proof that it's happening though.! My day started off with a text from Darci saying Happy Birthday to me, then a call from Janelle. We wound up talking for almost 2 hours.! Then Jim called. Probably the most memorable call was from my Mom. She of course sang me Happy Birthday (that's tradition), but I could hear an echo....and she asked me..'Guess where I'm calling you from??". I say..."Work?"....she says..."YES...from the bathroom.!!". Holy cow. Then all of a sudden she whispered and said "Someone just walked in...I gotta go..!". Can you imagine what the person was thinking when she walked in?? Hahahaha.....I'm still laughing.! Tonight is dinner with Jim, then a movie. This Saturday we will get together with all of the kids. I think it's going to be a Red Robin night. Got to collect our free birthday burgers.!
That was the fun....now for the not-so-fun. McKenna and Hailee had their appointments with the pediatric Nephrologist yesterday. Sadly, it's not good news for McKenna. From what he could tell (he didn't have the ultrasounds in his hands, but he did have the reports) and from hearing of Joel's family history, he is fairly certain that McKenna has Polycystic Kidney Disease. She did test positive for a kidney infection, which he says is common with PKD. He said they will have to always keep an eye out for infections, because they don't want the infection to back up into her kidneys and cause more problems. The doctor has requested both of the girls' ultrasounds (which I'm surprised his office didn't have Janelle pick them up for the appointments), and also told Joel to get an ultrasound ASAP. Their doctor is holding out a slight hope that if Joel does NOT have it, that McKenna doesn't have it, but maybe something not so drastic. But he's not holding out much hope. He said it would be more rare if she didn't have it. So Joel will be getting that done soon. What can be done for PKD? Nothing really. The girls will have an ultrasound once every two years to see if it's advancing. Even though Hailee doesn't seem to show any signs (he'll know more once he gets her ultrasound), since it is hereditary, he'll keep an eye on her. Janelle asked the doctor to lay everything out on the line. He advised her to not have anymore children. Now that was like taking a knife to her heart. That's all she has ever wanted to be, is a mother. He said most likely by the time they're in their 20's, but probably no later than their 40's, they will experience renal failure. That means dialysis until a kidney transplant can be done. But, that's still about 20 - 40 years away, and technology and medicine will be much more advanced, so for now, we're just going to enjoy these two little girls.!
I am looking forward to this weekend, since it's a double birthday party. Plus, McKenna LOVES to sing Happy Birthday. We'll be bringing the video camera for that one.! Of course pictures will follow...Ü