Ultrasound Results

Kylie’s ultrasounds came back normal and clean, so there are no abnormalities within her urinary track. This is both good news, and bad news. It’s good news, obviously, because there are no abnormalities within her urinary track that might potentially cause issues in the future. It’s bad news because should Kylie develop another UTI we will need to run the test for vesicoureteral reflux. This is clearly something that we don’t want to happen, as it would be a very uncomfortable test, for Kylie and for us. Hopefully we will not need to worry about this, and Kylie will not have another UTI.

Ultrasounds

Today Kylie had her ultrasound at U. M. Mott’s children hospital to check for irregularities within her urinary tack that might have caused her infection. She handle the situation very well. There was some fussing and a little crying in the begining, but with Mommy and Daddy next to her Kylie calmed down pretty quickly and the process went very smoothly. We should know the results of the scans in a couple of days.

“My nails are pretty”

Kylie went with Mommy and Aunt Sissy today and her very first professional manicure and pedicure. She had lots of fun and was even able to hold still for the entire time. She picked out her own color and really likes her new nails. She even called me to say “My nails are pretty.” Here is a picture of them that Tiffany took with her phone.

Shaving: The New Old Way

My new shaving equipment arrived today. Maybe I should explain…a while ago I read an article about the classic wet shaving style. This is the old time method of shaving with a safety or straight razer, and shaving soap or cream applied with a shaving brush. This is most likely the method of shaving your grandfather used, I know my Grandfather did. The article explained the method and procedures behind wet shaving along with the benefits. One benefit that I am greatly looking forward to is less irritation, especially along my neck. Another benefit is that the use of the brush helps to remove dead skin before shaving. To help me revive this lost form of shaving I had ordered a few things from Amazon via Perfect Beauty:

Merkur Long Handled Safety RazorOmega Stripey Badger Hair Shaving BrushOmega Shaving SoapDouble Edge Razor Blades

For the first time; I am actually looking forward to shaving.

Walk for the Cure

Tiffany has decided to finally fulfill a dream she has had for a long time and participate in this years Breast Cancer 3 Day, a 60 mile fund raiser walk benefiting Susan G. Komen for the cure. Tiffany has already started to train and prepare for this large undertaking and is very excited that she is finally going to participate in this great event. We are all very proud of her and look forward to meeting her at the finish line! The actual walk is not until September, so she has a long road of training ahead of her. But we know she will do great!

High Dynamic Range

For a long time now I have been looking at photographs online of scenes that look almost surreal, and wondering how those images were taken. After some searching around I found out that those images are High Dynamic Range images, or HDR and are actually composites of multiple pictures of the same scene. The individual images are taken at varying exposure settings and then combined to form a new composite image of the scene or item in question. This enables the images to have a much larger range for tones and colors and can produce some fantastic pictures.

Even though I knew how the procedure is accomplished I did not know enough about the manual settings on my camera to attempt to do this, that is until recently. I found an article that talked about auto exposure bracketing and how it will automatically take pictures at three separate exposure levels, thus allowing for the combination and creation of an HDR image. I looked into this and found that my Digital Rebel is capable of performing this action and so I decided to try and create some HDR images. Below are two examples of my first attempt at performing this procedure. They are both of the Ypsilanti Water Tower taken from Eastern Michigan University campus.

These are the three images I originally took:

And this is the resulting HDR image:

Here is the second set I took:

And there resulting HDR:

I am hoping to find other objects and scenes to try this out on as the weather turns nicer.

I have added the above images to a new album in the gallery, and will hopefully continue to add to it as I find more things to try and take HDR images of.

More Pictures

I added some more photo’s to Kylie’s gallery. Mainly all new year 3 photos, but a few older ones that have made there way to me have been put up as well. They can be found in the usual location.

A Decision Made

Though we understand the importance of making sure Kylie does not have vesicoureteral (VU) reflux, as if she does the next infection could result in her needing to be in the hospital for a few days, we are not sure we want to perform the above procedure. After talking between ourselves and obtaining information and recommendations from others along with some independant research on my own, Tiffany and I have decided to forgo the VCUG and only have the ultrasound at this time. We have discussed this with Kylie’s doctor and he fully understands our hesitation for the VCUG and is fine with our decision to skip it at this time. However, we are all in agreement that should she develop another infection while still so young, it will be necessary to have the VCUG to rule out any type of reflux. The reason for this is because the treatment for VU reflux would require Kylie to be on medication for 12 to 15 months. I guess we will wait and see what the ultrasound reveals and if she develops another infection or not. Kylie is scheduled to have her ultrasound on the 23 at U. M. Mott’s, which coincidentally is where Tiffany was rushed when she was born.

Urinary Track Infection

We had to bring Kylie back to the doctor today, it turns out she has a urinary track infection. Because this is so rare in young children the doctor wants to perform a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) to check for any abnormalities. Though Tiffany and I want to have the procedure done to rule out any internal issues, we are hesitant for a number of reasons. First the procedure involves using a catheter to fill her bladder, and how exactly do you explain that very unpleasant procedure to a two year old? Also, the procedure requires the use of a contrast material which could be a radioactive substance.

These two factors alone make us hesitate to perform this procedure. However, seeing as this is her first infection there are other options to consider. One of which is the use of an ultrasound to take images of her kidneys, bladder, and urethra to rule out any issues such as extra urethra. We are going to talk it over and I will do some more research into the procedures and Tiffany and I will decide on what we feel is the best path for our daughter. Until then Kylie will be on some medication to help deal with the current unpleasantness of the urinary track infection. With any luck she will be feeling better in a few days time.