updated: pls pray for skye shields

Hi everyone,

I don’t want to be overly dramatic and this is a personal post but I believe in the power of prayer and I love my daughter. Please pray for our 9 year old – Skye. In 2001 she was diagnosed with level 2 and 3 kidney reflux in her left and right kidneys. In 2003 she had a kidney deflux procedure. In 2005 she started complaining of pain in her left side about every 4-6 weeks and none of her doctors have ever been able to figure that out. She also inexplicably gained 20 lbs over a very short period of time. Beth and I decided to take Skye to see Dr. Gabe Mirkin, whose books and radio show we’ve benefited from over the years. He suggested that the next time Skye complained of pain that we take her in for an emergency sonogram and he wrote us a prescription for that. Today that happened and so we took her to the emergency room about 7 hours ago.

We’ve learned through other tests that she has a kidney stone in her left kidney and that it has stopped functioning. The ER doctor at our local hospital (an outstanding Johns Hopkins institution) is contacting the surgeon who operated on Skye to ask what he should do next.

Please pray and thank you.

20080127 – 8:02 PM ET Update: Dr. Matthews, who operated on Skye, wants to see her right now and so an ambulance is taking Skye to Johns Hopkins main facility in Baltimore so that he can evaluate her.

8:27 PM – dropping Micha and Li-Li at Beth’s sister’s hotel room who happens to be visiting and I’m off to Hopkins. Not sure how much I’ll be able to update but I’m taking my laptop in case I can score some wireless.

20080128 – 9:36 AM – Thank you for all the many phone calls, emails and comments. They’re a great comfort and we believe God is moving in response to your prayers. I have never been so grateful for the Internet.

Last night one of our surgeon’s team evaluated Skye at Hopkins and does not believe her left kidney has necessarily or permanently ceased to function. Her creatinine levels are good (a major measure of kidney function that I also have to track for myself as a diabetic), but in a nine year old they would be even with one kidney. And both of her kidneys were damaged permanently 6 years ago so we are asking God to give us this second kidney as it’s more critical in her case. But I do keep reminding herself that today with one working kidney, her life is not in immediate danger.

Last night our dr said that we have to treat the acute problem (the kidney stone) and the chronic problem (her 2 year episodic pain and her moderate hydronephrosis). For the former, the plan is to give her drugs today designed to help her pass it naturally and then if that doesn’t work, they’ll execute a more invasive procedure. Then they will evaluate her chronic problem which itself might have precipitated the stone.

I believe it was a blessing that this happened yesterday when labs were closed and we had no choice but to go to the ER for the test the doctor had ordered. If Skye had complained today on a Monday, we would have taken her to a lab per our last instruction from Mirkin and just have gotten a sonogram, which would have been normal today as it was yesterday. And today – again per her pattern – after 24 hours Skye is much more comfortable so we would be no closer to understanding what’s going on with our little one. It was only because we were at the ER when the Howard County doctor on call suspected a kidney stone that he ordered a CAT scan and we learned of the stone and of a concern with her left kidney. That got the ball rolling.

Beth’s sister is now leaving town and we have no one to watch the girls so we will probably be tag teaming until Skye comes home. We got Skye into her hospital room last night ab 1:30 AM today I left the hospital this AM to pick up the girls in Linthicum, dropped them off at their schools in Elkridge, and now am home in Ellicott City to do some laundry, shower, gets some stuff Beth and Skye need and then back to the hospital in Baltimore. Then I’ll stay there tonight while Beth leaves to pick up the girls, help them with homework tonight, get them to school in the AM and then she’ll return to the hospital where we will flip roles again. So pls pray for everyone’s endurance, sleep, and – most of all – for Skye’s kidney?

Thank you all so much. Your support has been wonderfully encouraging. It’s so good to know that prayers are going up for Skye.

20080128 4:37 PM UPDATE

Dr. Matthews – who operated on Skye for her reflux in 2003 – just visited Skye and I have two items of good news: 1) he thought that it is entirely premature to conclude that Skye has lost functioning in her left kidney. The complicating factor of the kidney stone clouds the picture too much to make such a conclusion. We simply don’t know yet. 2) We’re going home!!

The kidney stone must be eradicated, but Dr. Matthews is hesitant to operate on Skye when she’s not in distress. In addition, he wants to give her a week or two to pass the stone on her own. If Skye doesn’t pass the stone and she goes into a period of significant pain, then Dr. Matthews wants for us to immediately bring her back here to Hopkins and he will remove the stone. Or, if one or two weeks passes and nothing has happened, he wants us to get another CT scan. If the stone is still there (i.e. she hasn’t passed it without knowing it, which is possible) then he will surgically remove the stone.

This addresses the acute issue of the stone.

For the chronic problems Skye’s been experiencing, 1 to 2 months after the stone is gone (however that occurs), Dr. Matthews will do a study to evaluate the functioning of both of her kidneys and then if there’s an issue, we’ll plan the next step.

Thank you all so much for praying and for the surprise visits to the hospital, the calls, comments, emails, and many offers for practical assistance. Your kindness has been overwhelming. I will keep everyone updated on major developments.

20080131 – 2:57 PM

We are now scheduled to go get a second opinion on Friday 8 February and Skye’s surgery is scheduled for 9 AM on Tuesday 12 February.

Please continue to pray and thank you all so much!