Piling On

The Girl woke up with really puffy eyelids yesterday morning. We were baffled. She looked like she'd just gone 12 rounds with Hagler. Otherwise she was fine so we had no clue what it could be about. As the day progressed her puffiness increased and then it dawned on us that she might be allergic to the sulfa based antibiotic she has been prescribed to prevent infection in her kidneys. A quick call to the doc and her prescription was changed. We also gave the Girl a dose of Zyrtec to smack down the allergic reaction.

But the puffiness didn't go away. This morning it was worse. So the possibility that it isn't an allergic reaction to the antibiotic is raised. What else causes puffy eyes? Ahhh, yes, how bout something else to frighten the hell out of parents who have so much to worry about as regards the Girl. How bout something like, say, Nephrotic Syndrome. Edema in the eyelids is a nice telltale sign of the condition, as protein leaches from the blood into the urine by way of a scarred kidney. Only one surefire way to know: test the urine for protein. So the Doc has ordered a urine test.

Doc still believes it's an allergy but best to make certain. We are hoping she's right. All we need right now is the recent infection to have so badly damaged the Girl's kidneys that they just don't work worth a damn. As it is the Girl is scheduled for tests in two weeks to determine the cause of her bout of pyelonephritis. Hell, the reason she is taking the antibiotic at all is not because she still has the infection; it's because she will continue to get them now and the kidneys get bitter about that - they make you pay for the abuse.

Maybe they weren't so patient.

The Girl ain't making our lives easy.