Max's MRI Results

Hello Everyone!

I am very happy to announce that we FINALLY have a gameplan! We had our MRI yesterday morning and got our results back today. I will warn you that there is a TON of information that may not make sense, but I will try to explain as I go. So here it is:

• Max's lungs are just above the 5th percentile. They are below average but the doctors' seem to be optomistic about them. They feel that they should be able to support him once he is born. (YEAH!) There is a little fluid around his lungs, but not enough to be sending up a red flag.
• As for Max's kidneys, the left one seems to be close to normal size and the right one is small. The tissue around the right kidney is very thin (1/3 the size of the left one). This is called renal dysplasia. Both kidneys are showing cysts which is a sign of damage, but we don't know how much.
• As for whether the surgery was successful: The answer is yes. The pressure on the bladder is no longer present and the kidneys have been decompressed.
• Our main concerns: kidney function. The doctor is a little concerned on why the fluid levels didn't restore to a seminormal level.

Our hope is that his kidneys will function at least long enough to get him to a couple years old, then if we need to we will do a transplant.

The doctor is VERY happy with his growth (4 pounds 6 ounces as of today) and his heart monitoring. "He sounds beautiful" is what we keep hearing! I came off of the IV fluids today because they don't feel it was doing enough to keep me on them.

The scariest information that I heard was that we are still at a risk of a stillbirth. The low fluid levels are dangerous, but since he is still sounding good on the monitor they want to keep him in for a bit longer, but he is being watched closely! With that said, next Friday, May 2nd looks like it's going to be Max's birthday! I will be exactly 34 weeks and the doctor thinks it will be a good time to get him out for the risk of cord compression. He is still going to talk to Max's urologist and the doctor that performed the surgery to see if they have any reason for wanting him to stay in for longer, but he feels 34 weeks is going to be the day.

After Max is born, he will be stabalized here at Good Sam, but will then be transferred to Children's PICU that same day. Once he is there his urologist and the surgeon will become his primary physicians. They will also start doing some tests to determine kidney function.

Phew! That was a lot of information. If you click on the title of this post it will take you to some information that we may be faced with in regards to his kidneys.

Alright, I think that is all of the news that I have for right now. I will let you all know if there are any changes or new updates. Thank you all for all of your thoughts and prayers. We are truly blessed to have our family, friends and people that we don't even know on our side praying for Max! He is a very lucky little boy. I don't even know where to start when it comes to expressing our gratitude for what all of you have done for us! Just know that we appreciate each and everyone of you.