Dr's Notes

It's time to spill the beans...well, the kidney beans to be exact (narf!)
We discovered ages ago when Greta's home address was 123 Womb Street, that one of her kidneys was larger than the other, however with everything else about her vitals normal it wasn't a huge concern, just something to keep our eyes on.
We have had numerous ultrasounds since her home address changed to the greater Redmond area (USA). And we have met with numerous tests, procedures, and Dr's since then. Some very interesting and others most unpleasant. All which have made it known to us that she has a Ureteropelvic Junction, or the partial blockage of her left kidney.
Our Dr gave us the word picture of a 'kinked hose', and I think that explains it nicely (ureter being the 'hose' leading out of the kidney).
So now that it has a name and we are certain of her condition we get to share it with you! We were hesitant to share too much before we had all the facts. But here's how it is:
As of her latest study she has two fully functioning kidneys, so this should dispel all rumors that may fly using the words "kidney failure", "transplant list", or "great calamity". It's wonderful news that her kidneys are still healthy, and shows us that she is in no present danger of imploding or such nonsense.
Both kidney's take in what they ought, it's only the left that doesn't get rid of fluid as it should which has caused that kidney to swell (hydronephrosis). This could lead to serious problems if left unwatched/unknown but thanks to early discovery and watchful eyes she is in a very blessed position.
We have two options, one is to operate, the other is to watch for a little longer to see if it corrects on its own (as some children's do). However, operation seems more and more likely as her kidney has continued to swell over time.
We have had one Dr. who sees her likely going into operation and another who is gathering a few more images in a few weeks time to be sure.
So it's all up in the air and just the right time for your helpful prayers. We have known all of this for some time and feel no great shock or worry over the matter, except for the occasional motherly regret that my sweet little baby has to endure such discomforts. However, when they do occur they are brief and soon forgotten because she really is still the happiest little Barley, who doesn't know or care a fig about some bum kidney-tube.
She's blissfully ignorant of the whole deal and has been enjoying the duty of keeping me on my toes lately. I told Kent the other day that I feel more like a wrangler than a mother as most of my daily duties involve herding Greta out of places and keeping her from grazing on our electrical chords. (Today I turned around and she was gone like a flash! I found her stuffing her face greedily with the chord to our lamp, as she knows she is forbidden to, and was getting all the fun out of it in a frenzy of about 5 seconds.)
So, now that we have filled you in we will be keeping you posted on all her kidney's goings on. Thanks for caring!
(And sorry there was no pictures this post, I tried to find a jolly picture of a kidney to put up...it doesn't exist.)