Day 61

Sorry to those of you who have already heard this story. For those who haven't, here's how it all began.

On this day...

...exactly TWO years ago, Jared, Benson, and I were sitting at our kitchen table eating an egg sandwich and cheetos for lunch. Claire, just over two months old, was sitting in her bouncer seat watching us eat. We had taken Claire to the Pediatrician the day before for her routine 2-month check up. Everything looked great, except she hadn't gained as much weight as they had expected. They drew some blood just to make sure everything was okay. As we were eating lunch that next day the phone rang. I answered it. It was Claire's doctor: "Take Claire to the hospital now and pack your bags. She is in kidney failure."

I wasn't so interested in finishing my egg sandwich after that conversation.

The next 6 weeks were spent at the Children's Hospital in Denver, CO. No one knew why here kidneys weren't working. The first few weeks everyone thought she was in acute kidney failure but that her kidneys would eventually kick back in and begin working. That day never came. About 2 weeks into our 6 week stay, they said they still didn't know why she had kidney failure, but she needed to start dialysis. They placed a peritoneal dialysis catheter and a G-Tube in her on Dec. 3. 2007. During that surgery, they did a biopsy of her kidney to see if that could help them know why they weren't working. Thankfully it did provide the answer. From the kidney biopsy, they found that her kidneys were full of oxalate crystals. Her condition was quickly linked to primary hyperoxaluria, where the liver produces too much oxalate---the kidneys try to filter it out but the overload is eventually too much for them to handle---and the kidney fails. Unfortunately, kidney failure is usually the first sign of this rare genetic disease and Claire just so happens to be one of the youngest EVER to be diagnosed with it.

Estimated chances of having this disease: between one in a million and one in three million.

And anyone who knows Claire knows that she IS one in a million in EVERY sense of the word.

And that's how the fun all began. This day, two years ago, is a day never to be forgotten by our family. The news we got that day changed, enriched, challenged, and defined each of our days thereafter. Who we are, what we do, and who we will become is a result of November 14, 2007.

Claire's blessing day November 4, 2007