February 2009

Words no parent should ever have to hear

The initial biopsy results are back. My little boy has FSGS and I am completely and utterly heartbroken.

Going to hospital

So we are set for William’s biopsy. This entails an overnight stay (possibly two if he has any post-biopsy bleeding) and a general anaesthetic to make sure he stays absolutely still. Because a local anaesthetic and a five year old do not go together in such circumstances. The hospital is a good distance away from [...]

Steroid Resistant Nephrotic Syndrome (SRNS)

The biopsy is just that: a biopsy. A nuisance but a relatively common procedure. It is the potential diagnosis that is worrying me sick. The paediatrician could not allay my fears when I asked what the statistical results were for the biopsy results in children but Dr Goggle is more forthcoming. He says things like [...]

Biopsy

The words are delivered by our very nice paediatric consultant as lightly as she can muster: ‘William needs a kidney biopsy’ and I know that at this point, statistically, the prognosis for William looks suddenly a great deal worse. William has made very little progress. In fact the only difference between now and when he [...]

Prednisone/prednisolone side effects in children

The last couple of weeks we have been to and from the hospital more times than I care to think about for William to be monitored and a couple of times when he has been really poorly. Each time we are there a minimum of three hours, usually with a fractious toddler and baby in [...]