Archer Update :)

We met with a Pediatric Nephrologist (Kidney Doctor) on Thursday. Dr. Sherbotie told us more about Archer's kind of stones and what he should / shouldn't eat. He also told us an amount on how much sodium is too much (1200mg or less daily).

KEY POINTS:
*Drink at least 50 ounces of fluid daily, avoiding electrolyte containing drinks and sugar drinks - water is always best.
*Limit salt / sodium intake to 1200mg or less daily
*Limit animal protein (eat less meat / dairy) but make sure he still gets enough calcium (800-1000 mg/day)

We'll need to do another 24-hour urine collection to measure the amounts of cystine and creatine in his urine sometime in the next few months. Also, he'll need to take potassium citrate to help make his stones occur less frequently, but will require him to drink lots of water (which he needs to be doing anyway). He recommended that we maybe pack lunches for Archer to be sure to limit his salt intake - and Archer LOVES that idea. :) The boy loves taking home lunch.

Other than that, business as usual. He was sad on Friday when he woke up hurting because it was a party for the 100th day of school. He was crying because of pain and disappointment. But now we know how to combat the pain (ibuprofen) and at about 10am, Archer got to go to class and play on the 100th day of school. He was super excited. :)

It seems like he's having a bad day (which we think means he's passing a stone) about once a week. The one I posted a picture of is the biggest. Most look like a crumb of something. We aren't sure how many he has passed so far because we quit straining his pee. :)

Want to know more about his type of stones / disorder? Check out: http://www.cystinuria.com/what-is-cystinuria/

SO, other than that, life is good. Archer actually lost his first tooth on February 5th. The Tooth Fairy had to rush to a grocery store at about 9pm and they luckily had a golden dollar (because that's what our Tooth Fairy brings for lost teeth). Archer wrote a letter to the Tooth Fairy (I love how he spelled things):

Diiir tootH faiRy, cAN I ceep miy tooth? fRoM ARcheR

...and at the bottom, he drew a picture of him sleeping and the Tooth Fairy coming to visit. And both were farting. Yep. Love that boy. :)

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Thanks to everyone for thoughts and love. He's a strong boy and will learn to live awesomely through all of this! :)