Getting to the bottom of things

Something about the summer makes me always want to write. From the time I was about 9 years old, I've had countless journal and diary entries that begin: "today was my brother's birthday." Indeed, my little brother turned 22 this week. Happy birthday kid!

I have an appointment to meet with a specialist next Thursday. Not that my nephrologist and my OB GYN are not specialists, I love them both. They're the best. My problem is that they both know a lot about their area of interest, but they don't know much about how they relate to each other. This is why I get a lot of "well, I can't promise" and "theres no way to say for sure." This particular specialist has written articles, given lectures, and done plenty of research on pregnancy, hypertension, and CKD. And from what I understand, she has treated plenty of people who have been in my very boat.

Here's what I plan to ask her.

• What is making it difficult for me to get pregnant now?
• What happens if I have kidney failure during pregnancy?
• Where am I in the range of risk based on my lab results?
• Will I be able to get matched for a donor during pregnancy?
• Would there be any reason why I couldn't skip dialysis and go straight to transplant?
• What is the prelimenary process for deciding to transplant?
• What are the specific dangers to the baby?
• How soon are we able to determine how/if the baby is effected?
• What is the deciding factor of if and when I need to go on bed rest?
• Are my hair, teeth and skin effected by my loss of kidney function?

I think thats it for now. If I think of anything else, I'll add it later.

Toodles!