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.