Stow's Lost Memo

I'm beginning to think there are serious problems with my in utero courier service. Stow missed another memo. A pretty important one. See, God and I had a little chat when I first learned about Stow, and I'm pretty sure we decided Stow wouldn't have any significant health issues. 

You know how I know he didn't get the prenatal memo?

One word:

(though it kind of sounds like it should be at least two)

Hydrophrenosis 

(autocorrect really wants me to write hydrosphere noise here, but I'm resisting!)

Stow's got a watery kidney. I know. That was my first reaction, too! Of course he has a watery kidney. That's what kidneys do. But apparently it's possible to have too much water in your kidney and apparently that's not good. So now we begin the process of figuring out how bad it is, what's causing it, and what needs to be done. In other words, we don't know anything (other than the fact that we now "get" to go to even more appointments than we were already going to for Ren's back, Pink P's asthma, and Sky's speech, OT and other therapies).

The bright side, if you need one, is that Stow's nearly month of fevers (which turned out to be multiple minor viruses back to back) led to the plenitude of tests that uncovered the kidney thing. If he hadn't been sick for so long, we probably wouldn't have known about the kidneys. At least not for awhile. I know ignorance isn't really bliss, and I know I should be happy we can get on top of this before it's too late. Still, a few more months of not worrying about baby kidneys doesn't seem like such a bad thing!

*****

Oh, did I mention that all this has been happening in the weeks leading up to and following the departure (from our small town back to Chicago) of Dr. S who has seen our kids ever since we moved back to the States? And did I mention that Dr. G, the doctor who agreed to take them on as patients and who was consulting with Dr. S about Stow's situation, moved to a new practice because the old practice was disbanded? And did I mention that Dr. G's newly assigned practice decided our "new" doctor couldn't accept any more patients because that practice was already full? Did I tell you that when I tried to make an appointment for Stow to see Dr. G, I was told we couldn't see him? And even when I explained the situation, the surly receptionist at the "new" place flatly told me it didn't matter what I heard at the old practice because that office doesn't exist any more and under no circumstances would the "new" practice's policies be compromised. Did I mention that this means my kids are therefore currently all without a local doctor until I can find a place that is accepting new patients and get their paperwork processed? Did I tell you any of this?

Because it's kind of important, and there doesn't seem to be much I can do about it.