I feel like we have been walking through this trial hand in hand with all of you somehow. The many prayers are felt.
Yesterday, we drove a couple hours to the Children’s hospital for Molly’s first kidney appointment. As I sat waiting, I was so nervous about what they would say. Her kidney doctor was a woman from India and she was very very nice. She spent about an hour answering all of my many questions. She reviewed Molly’s lab work and gave me some fantastic news. She told me that Molly had elevated levels but she is not in need of medication. In fact, she was a little upset that the medication was even suggested for blood pressure in the first place. The doctor took very careful measures of Molly’s blood pressure and found it to be on the low side. If the previous doctor would have given her this medication, it could have really harmed her because it would make the blood pressure go even lower which could result in Molly passing out. Usually, when the kidneys are very bad, the blood pressure is very high. We learned so much and I feel so much better about my understanding. She also said that this monitoring system that we had gotten for Molly is very essential. It is so ultra important to keep her blood sugar levels in a safe zone. Now that Molly has been on the monitoring system, she has really been doing so much better. It is such a blessing to be able to keep her from getting too high or too low. The first couple weeks using the device, I did not understand it very well, and we were having a lot of situations that were scary for us, but now I understand it very well. I know what foods make the blood sugar spike and what doses of medication make her dive too low. The Lord has been so gracious to patiently lead us along the way.
Now, we will be doing a series of lab work in the next six months to see how she improves. We are due to see the kidney doctor every six months. If the lab work is still elevated, we will need to see the kidney doctor sooner. Her kidneys are still functioning just fine at this time-Praise the Lord. The protein in the urine can be caused by so many things, they said. It is extremely rare that a child with diabetes would have kidney trouble this early so she is not about to jump the gun on that conclusion. Having kidney trouble as a diabetic adult is very common with little blood sugar control. Molly is finally getting better control, so we are hoping for a full recovery. They told us that she would not need any dietary restrictions at this time as she needs a well balanced, healthy diet to grow properly. I am planning on using what I have learned and feed our family a nutrient rich diet. It is so wonderful to have some good news and to know that we are able to get Molly under control. We are so thankful for all your prayers and for the opportunity to have the monitor to keep her in better control. What a blessing!!!
Since I was unable to can or make cheese for a few days, I have about 4 bushels of tomatoes to work up into spaghetti sauce, and about 12 gallons of milk to work up into cheese!!!! Living in the bounty-we are so thankful! My house is a pig sty because we had to leave in such a hurry yesterday and did not get home until late in the evening, the dishes are still sitting out dirty and laundry that is piled up. We did had a lovely day in Milwaukee. We had a picnic lunch on the beach and met some sailors of an old 19th century scooner ship. Of course our children asked many questions about life on a ship. They actually live on the ship and give historical rides. That was really neat. I got to talk to the ship cook. I told her about our Homestead DVDs, because she would love to learn how to make cheese. Then we visited the museum because my mother had a family pass. Always fun to learn about history and science. My kids believe in the creation story, so when they have this billion year thing, the kids usually start refuting those finding very loudly so all the other visitors can hear. Very funny. After our adventures we were able to meet Terri Peter (a member here that I met from this wonderful site) in a parking lot because she wanted to bless our family with some homeschooling curriculum. It was such a wonderful time to see her again with all of her children. I am so very thankful for the curriculum. The kids were so thrilled to see it all and to see who would get what books. We are very excited to start our new year of school, but I still take life one moment at a time, so for today, I will try to get order in my home again and catch up on all my canning and cheese making. God can give me the strength to climb a mountain, but thankfully, He gave me 5 kids that can help me. I am forever grateful for each of them. They are so precious. I just pray I can get them to cheerfully work along side me today. Most of all, I am thankful for our good report on Molly and new HOPE!
