Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Quick Kidney Update

Here's a quick addendum to the previous entry, regarding Eli's fluids and kidney function.

With a little aggressive prodding by me, buzz words like albumin (a blood component for moving fluids) and nephrotic syndrome (kidney die off that hinders their ability to produce albumin) started emerging. As I start doing a little research, I have a few questions that the nurse isn't able to answer. He calls in the shift intensivist (doctor). The quick-n-dirty version: his albumin levels are low, but that's expected after surgery. Not to worry. The numbers they've been using to measure his kidney function (BUN and creatinine) are getting better. With both of these numbers, lower is better, because that means the kidneys are getting the junk out. BUN should be in the low 20s, and over the first week after surgery, Eli's steadily climbed to about 52. It's been plateaued over the last couple of days. Tonight, we see it has finally started decending. Right now, it's at 48. The doctor says "52 to 48 doesn't sound like a lot, but little numbers make a big difference with these numbers. He's coming down the other side of the hill now."

Finally! Some sort of relief. We cautiously cheer that Eli appears to be coming "over the hump," so to speak.

7 comments:

Bonnie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bonnie said...

Oops . . . I posted a note for you through FB - too lengthy for your comments here.

Loving and praying and waiting with you,

Bonnie

Anonymous said...

The number you really want to watch is the creatinine. That number is the best number to judge the function of the kidney. The lower the number the better!

Leah

A friend of the family said...

Yeah for Eli!!

Love and prayers,

The Favelos

Wedehase Family said...

Leah, you're such a nerd! And exactly accurate. Today, his creatinine numbers are "normal." Today, they're 0.59. To quote Dr. Francis "We're not out of the woods yet, but at least we can see the daylight."

- Jason

Amy said...

We continue to lift Eli up to the Lord in prayer. It is nice to be able to pray for specifics. You all are VERY loved!

Anonymous said...

We're thinking of you guys and praying for your family. Thanks so much for all the updates. I wish we could come visit but Ian hasn't been home in a while. Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help. My parents will be here next week but after that we'd love to watch Paige for you.

Love,
Jessie