Great News!

We went to see Landon's nephrologist today. You know it's going to be a good visit when she walks in to ask if I want the good news now or at the end. Of course I wanted to know! His creatinine level which is an indicator of how well the kidneys are functioning is a .3. This is what you would expect to see in a child Landon's age without Cystinosis! His kidneys are working beautifully! Another level that they keep a close eye on is his cystine level. Our goal was to get it below 1. Well, it was a .78! Yay! Yay! Yay! "Keep doing what you are doing" was our take home message!

She also said that he is growing wonderfully. He was 20 pounds! I tend to base his weight on what the pediatrician says because he is weighed in so many different places. But, it looks like we'll be due for a 20 Pound Celebration after his next weight check with the pediatrician in a couple of weeks! They are keeping a close watch on his growth in the event that we decide to give him growth hormones in the future. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

She also mentioned the possibility of us pursuing some research opportunities. These opportunities are at NIH (National Institute of Health) in Maryland so would involve some travel. Jimmy and I are all for it. The research is crucial in moving forward with better treatment options and a cure. It would also expose us to the most updated information.

I was thrilled with the appointment, but am not surprised by the good news (well maybe a little surprised), but I know Landon and know that there is something different about him recently. There is more life in him. He has lots of energy and is on an incredible learning curve. He isn't a baby anymore. He wants to walk in public places. He runs from room to room in our house and yells. There is just something a little different and refreshing. He is such a character! God help us when he actually speaks English (I don't know what language he speaks currently although a few words we know are thrown in there). He isn't going to stop. Jimmy and I were hysterical last night watching him run around speaking in his "outside voice," and moving from one activity to another (pushing the chair down the hall to throwing himself on the pillows to taking Rocky's toy and throwing it- away from and at Rocky). And as we're laughing, Landon looks at Jimmy, puts his head in his hands and lets out a loud exaggerated laugh in attempt to mimick Jimmy. I should also add that I had to remove, our very persistent little boy, from the Christmas tree no less than twelve times! It may be time to invest in our very own Time Out Chair!

So, what a way to enter 2012, right? It's going to be a good year. I believe that! Happy New Year friends!