Next steps

Well, we have successfully moved the ultrasound up to Monday, December 7th from the 15th. I had been feeling like it was all so far away, which both made me nervous because of how close it was to Christmas but also gave me comfort because, well, because it felt so far away. And now suddenly it’s right around the corner making me even more nervous!

But Mark, my level-headed clear-thinking husband, has rightly pointed out that no matter what next week’s ultrasound shows, we still need more information before taking the irreversible step of removing Austin’s only kidney. He suggested we request a needle biopsy, which we did last March but were unable to do on the October mass because it was filled with fluid. The new mass is solid and seems to be almost the size of the March one, which makes us think we could indeed biopsy it before scheduling a surgery that would forever change our lives.

This lets me breathe a little easier. We could certainly fit in a two-night hospital stay for a biopsy before the holidays and then use real diagnostic information (assuming we get real diagnostic information from the biopsy) to make our final decision. And, as long as the mass isn’t growing at some outrageously fast rate (a la Austin’s September 07 tumor), there doesn’t seem to be any life-or-death reason for us to have to rush into surgery. Maybe we can just wait until after Christmas and then take the next step, whatever that next step might be.

For now, our next step is a trip to the mall to visit Santa on Friday and maybe a “train ride” to Shaker Square to see the lights this weekend. And a few extra snuggles with my little people.