Glomeruloneph-whatis????

Thank you so much for all your love, prayers, and concerns for Emma this past week. Here's the play by play of whats been and what is still going on-
Thursday, January 15th- Emma and I were at the Library, she needed to go to the bathroom, once there, I noticed her urine was red... not just a little, but completely. We found a pediatricians office who was able to get us in that afternoon. Keep in mind, Emma had not been sick- no complaints, no fever, no nothing!!! At the Dr they took a urine sample thinking she had a UTI. It was not that. They swabbed her throat for a rapid strep test, which came back positive. The Dr said that blood in the urine can be a complication of strep throat. They put her on penicillin for 10 days.
Friday, January 16th- Monday January 26th- Emma takes penicillin 3 times a day. Urine clears to a tea colored hue.
Tuesday, January 27th- Emma's urine is back to dark red. I called the Dr and they got us in that night. The Dr decided we needed to get blood work done to make sure Emma's kidneys were functioning (and since her toes were smashed and still oozing blood on one) the Dr decided to send us to the ER. We spent the evening in the ER. Emma was very brave- X-rays on both big toes, another urine sample, blood drawn (they had to do both arms, as the first catheter would not thread.) Once the blood work came back indicating her kidneys were functioning, they sent us home. The other lab work would not come back for several days to give us any more information. Strep culture was negative.

Wednesday and Thursday- Emma was very tired and not eating or drinking much. By Thursday afternoon, Emma napped for 2 1/2 hours, got up, and then wanted to lie back down on my bed (not usual for Emma). I called the Dr again and they asked me to come right in. Urine sample indicated both blood and increasing amount of protein and she had lost 2 1/2 pounds since her visit 2 weeks earlier! They called the Renal specialists at Children's Hospital of Boston and sent us right down. We spend about 8 hours in the ER before they decided to admit her.
Yes, that is Emma's urine in the blue lidded cup above her head.


We spent Thursday night and the whole day Friday in the hospital undergoing more testing and evaluation. Emma has been unbelievably brave and strong. She thought the children's hospital was really fun, but started to ask everyone who walked through the door if they were going to use that poky thing (draw more blood. First ER- both elbows stuck. Second ER- tops of both hands stuck. Hospital- another vein in her right elbow stuck)
Breakfast in bed was very cool for her!


She was released at about 7 last night with the diagnoses of "Post-Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis". You can read more about it here.
From here we basically wait to see if she starts to get better. If so, the diagnoses was correct, if not.... She will have blood drawn on a weekly basis and blood pressure/weight/urine checks twice a week until??? We will see the renal specialists on February 11.
The other concern is that her Hematocrit level dropped from 33 (which was already low) to 25 in two days time. This is unrelated to the kidney disease, so they are watching this as well to make sure her body starts to make more red blood cells. If the number drops, we will be sent back to the hospital.
We really appreciate your love and concern. We have faith in our Savior Jesus Christ and know that he is watching over us and giving us strength through this trial.