Can two "wrongs" make a right?

Only God, who doesn't make mistakes and who created our inmost being and knit us together in our mother's womb, can. Lance and I have said over and over that God's plan is SO much greater than even we know or can see or can comprehend. Occasionaly, he drops situations in our lives to remind us of his glory and power and unconditional love for us. Today I am reminded of how totally out of my control life is, but how totally in control of my life my creator is!

We had a VERY early start to our morning. It started with my alarm clock singing a catching tune at 5am that has the intention of catching my attention right out of bed {I don't normally EVER see this hour of the day...not a goodmorning sunshine kinda person...maybe a goodmorning 8-9 o'clockish sunshine kinda person} but I may have swiped it right off my nightstand and "dismissed" the alarm before it could even perform the second bar of music. Twenty minutes later {late} we sat up in bed and turned on the bathroom light {always our first step to waking up, who needs blinding light while trying to adjust to just being upright.} Coffee was leading the priortity list with being clothed at a close 2nd. We were in the car at 6:15 {only 15 mins later than we were shooting for}, coffees in the mugs, a favorite talk radio selected on the dial, and a beautiful October sunrise to escort us on our short road trip to Portland.

Rowdy enjoyed his morning jaunt with a snooze. We arrived at the hospital and walked into the quiet diagnostic center waiting room and waited to be called to check in. Checked in and went and sat and played the waiting game. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. This is how I felt trying to get Rowdy to drink water before his ultrasound! He just wouldn't do it. Finally, Lance suggested feeding him some cherrios...sure enough he was thristy in no time and drank almost the whole thing. I knew I keep him around for a reason. *wink*

After watching many people who arrived after us get called back, it was our turn! We weighed our little man and he weighed 22 lbs 2 oz with jammies on. I was thankful that Lance attended this ultrasound with me because it is getting harder and harder to keep Rowdy still! He is a mover and a shaker. The girl doing the ultrasound was great and Rowdy was on his best behavior...so we jumped through that first hoop like an all-star!

With ultrasound films in hand, we hop back into the car and head over the bridge for our appt with Dr. Hirselj, Rowdy's urologist. We get set up in a new room we haven't been in before because today we are going to have an additional test we haven't had before. I think its falls under the category of Urodynamic testing. Dr. Hirselj said after looking at his ultrasound images, nothing has really changed...his ureters are still swollen, kidneys still holding fluild....but good news is that is isn't worse. His kidneys still appear to be growing and healthy looking.

The cathedar test was hard on Rowdy and hard on mommy and daddy. I had to keep reminding myself that he wouldn't remember any of it tommorrow. But it was painful to put the cathedar in. This test was to measure the pressure his bladder is under as it fills up. Once the cathedar was in, Rowdy settled down within a few minutes with a little milk bottle and a binky. Dr. drained what was in his bladder and then hooked up all the wires and tubes to the cooresponding wires and tubes. The test turned out good, not perfect, but good. His bladder seemed to handle the pressure of filling well. So wonderful news is that at this time, we won't need to learn how to cathederize him ourselves throughout the day. We are very thankful for that. Dr. Hirselj did up his medication amout to twice a day instead of just at night time. We are still cautiously optimistic! We will continue to go back every 3 months and keep him on his daily medication.

Well, today I think we finally grasped that the valves that caused his bladder/kidney issues formed with I was 8-10 weeks pregnant. So for 30 weeks, through developing and growing in utero his urinary tract system was effected. His kidneys and bladder will never be like ours, and will never function perfectly like ours. So, we are now are looking at the urinary tract that he has, and trying to manage it to help it be the most efficient it can be. This will be a lifelong "disorder" that we will moniter. BUT, hey, i'll take cautiously optimistic!

So where do the two "wrongs" that make a right fit in? Well, a side affect in utero of babies that have posterior urethral valves is that they end up with very low levels of amniotic fluid. Which, because of this, babies lungs don't develope properly which can be fatal. BUT, he also has Down syndrome, and 50% of babies with DS are born with a blockage in their intestines {which Rowdy was born with and had to have surgery for} and a side effect of this blockage is that there is an abnormal amount of amniotic fuild produced. So the two actually worked together to create the best possible environment for his survival!! God knew all along that Rowdy would need both birth defects to have the best outcome.

Dr. Hirselj reminded us that Rowdy is a minority. He was born {most babies with the valves also have kidney failure before they are even born}, and his kidneys {although not TOTALLY normal looking/functioning} are healthy and still growing!

We are so thankful that the Lord heard all of the prayers from family/friends for our baby today and the appointment was a good one. We still have a long road ahead of us but that's what life is all about.

Thank you for your love and support of Rowdy and all that God created him to be!