Drain In Vain

Good morning.

Pablo has been sleeping for over 12 hours. The dude is so zen-ed out he doesn't even wake up when the nurses come in to check on him in the night!

While Jo Ann and I were meeting with Dr M yesterday, Polly took Pablo down to the Radiology Department for an ultrasound. Dr Stein thought Pablo's kidney might be leaking and causing his feet to swell and his abdomen to distend. The ultrasound showed that the kidney is leaking, and now we have another mini-project to sort out.

This project is simple–pop a drainage tube into his side, and watch the yucky stuff unload. The drain is installed surgically, with either general or local anesthesia (I am voting for general). It's a simple procedure, and will provide near-instant relief for Pablo.

The doctors told us that leakage was highly probable, so it's not a surprise that it has. A though plenty of urine is coming out through the proper channel and into his catheter, the internal leakage has caused is belly to distend. In simple terms, the kidney has not fully healed and sealed, so some urine is going in the wrong direction. Getting the fluid buildup away from the kidney will allow it to properly heal.

So, with Pablo still asleep, we are waiting for the surgery team to come in and tell us it's stage time.

I will keep the updates coming about this procedure as well as any pathology updates.

Oh, I have one update for you now: Jo Ann just told me that as P fell asleep last night he made an announcement: 'I FARTED!'