Sara, the urinary conundrum, has proven she is made of some serious stuff.  5 hours of testing at the Children’s Hospital yesterday, and this girl took it like a champ.  Everything I said previously about Pediatric Urology, I will now redact, retract, and regret.  I can’t say enough about the professionalism of the staff of Riley Hospital.  I knew they had a great reputation, but I didn’t know that US News & World Report had them ranked as the 3rd best Pediatric Urology Department in the nation.  No wonder it took me 8 weeks to get an appointment!  Worth…the…wait.  From the ultrasound to the Xray to the consultation…every single person there knew exactly what was going on, and by the end, Sara thought she was on some grand adventure.  Maybe it had something to do with the Barbie they gave her during the very uncomfortable Xray?

In one day we worked with 2 Pediatric Urologists, 1 Nurse Practitioner, 3 Xray Technologists, 2 RNs, 1 Ultrasound Tech, and a Child Life Specialist.  Oh, how I wish we were done, but tomorrow is the Anesthesiologist and the Cystoscopy.  She’ll be asleep, so THANK GOD for small miracles.

If you wish for specifics for prayers, as of now, we know that Sara has one extra ureter (apparently not uncommon), “something” where that ureter meets the bladder (that’s tomorrow’s journey), a below average bladder capacity, and moderate urinary retention.  Oh yes, and a good case of “Busy Little Girl Syndrome”, aka, “I’m far too busy to pee…maybe later, OK?”

The bright side: she has never had an infection; she has never been in any pain; she is completely unruffled by this entire ordeal, except to occasionally tell me she feels “nervous inside”, which we’ve been able to talk through; the last tests are falling serendipitously after her FIRST field trip on a BUS…a REAL SCHOOL BUS, and before Field Day; and her insanely expensive daywetter panties arrived today, making Sara one very happy and one very dry child.  Hey, if I had $20 underwear overnighted to me, I might feel pretty special too.  $20 PER PAIR, and I can hear my Grandma in heaven saying, “Mercy, Mercy!” The saving of my nerves was worth any price.

I feel like I’ve been hit with an emotional Mack Truck, and I don’t want to talk about the chemo and the side effects….I’ll just say “itch” and “fire” describe today.  So if I’m not in this space as often as I’d like, I’m doing my best to care for us all.  Thank you again for your prayers.