From the beginning. . .

Just so everyone knows the story from the beginning. Kent went in to see the doctor in July. His ankles were swollen. He thought it was from squatting all day re-caulking the shower, but after putting up his feet all night, his ankles were still swollen. So he went to the doctors to see if something was wrong.

His doctor, Ronald Lopez, did some initial blood tests. When the results came in, they showed that he was slightly anemic and his creatinine levels (the protein in his blood) were high. Lopez's nurse set up appointments for Kent to see a gastroenerologist to get a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy. The results of those tests were normal. Then he was sent to a nephrologist to check his kidneys. Blood tests revealed that his kidney levels were still high. They scheduled him for an ultrasound (July 30th) which revealed an approximately an 8cm-9cm mass on his left kidney. The right kidney appeared normal. He went in the following day to talk about what needed to be done next.

He was sent to the lab for a chest x-ray. The results of the chest x-ray showed no abnormalities. He was scheduled for an MRI on Monday, August 3rd.

Monday's MRI results were read on Tuesday, Aug 4th by urologist Dr. Blake Johnson. He showed Kent the mass on his kidney. It was in the center of the left kidney and had expanded throughout almost the entire kidney. There is a very small section of good kidney at the very bottom of the left kidney, but it is not big enough to be viable or useful to Kent. Dr. Johnson advised Kent that the whole kidney should be removed. He did say that the right kidney, liver, and lymph nodes were all clear of any masses. As he was looking at the other MRI pictures, he discovered that the mass looked like it had expanded to the the inferior vena cava. "The inferior vena cava is the large vein ascending through the abdomen. It collects blood from the hepatic veins, the lumbar veins, gonadal veins, renal (kidney) veins, and phrenic veins. These vessels usually drain regions that are supplied by arteries with corresponding names. The inferior vena cava enters the heart through the right atrium."(innerbody.com)

Dr. Johnson wanted to confirm his findings with the MRI radiologist before we went forward with the kidney removal. After talking with the radiologist, he confirmed that mass had indeed expanded 8 cm into the inferior vena cava. He then told us that the surgery just became more serious. Kent would still have to have the kidney removed, but now they would have to also go into the vein to clean the mass out of the vein.

Upon speaking to my friend Scott, who is a cardio physicians assistant (sorry Scott, I don't know your official title), we made an appointment with another urologist (second opinion) named Dr. Lane Childs. Kent had an appointment with him on Thursday, August 6th. Dr. Childs had already talked with Dr, Johnson and my friend Scott, so he was aware of the seriousness of Kent's situation. He was straight forward and honest with Kent and told him what was going to happen. He called the cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Kent Thorne (also a good friend of Scott's) while we were sitting in the exam room. He explained to Dr. Thorne the extent of his mass. Dr. Thorne said that it would be best to do a cardio pulmonary bypass surgery. This involves putting a canulus (essentially a long plastic tube) that will bypass the vein that needs to be cleaned out. This bypass is necessary because it will prevent excessive bleeding and will prevent a piece of the mass breaking off and finding its way to the lungs (resulting in a pulmonary embolism).

Dr. Child has Kent's surgery penciled in for August 17th. This is barring any scheduling conflicts with the hospital (St. Mark's) and Dr. Thorne. We will keep you all posted on the exact date and time as soon as it is confirmed.

Kent's parents; his twin Kurt; his brothers Mark, Andy, Sean, and Kyle; and sister-in-laws Cyndi and Juliene were all gratefully on hand over the week and into the weekend to help during this difficult time. We are very grateful for all of the support and prayers of our friends, Kent's college teammates, high school friends, and of course all of our wonderful family. Thank you so much for your love and concern.