Parent Blog: Rachel Lentz
In their words
Rachel Lentz
Eagle Grove, Iowa
“We moved back to the U.S. from Turkey in August 2016. Before moving, we researched a lot about hospitals that offered peritoneal dialysis treatment and were so glad to see that UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital was ranked high in this area.
The care Eva has received has been exceptional. When we first arrived from Turkey, Eva had been struggling to gain weight and her dialysis treatment was not efficient, causing several alarms to go off throughout the night while she was hooked up to her cycler. With her dialysis treatment being insufficient to clear her body of the toxins which kidneys normally tackle, she looked sickly and was not on the chart for weight-height for her age.
While we were establishing care at UI, her doctor and nurses were persistent in finding the best treatment prescription for her. It has now been a little over a year that Eva has been a patient of Dr. Jetton, and the progress she has made is incredible. Eva is on a nightly peritoneal dialysis treatment (since her fourth day of life). She has more than doubled her weight (now in the 50th percentile for her age), is meeting developmental milestones, and she is easily keeping up with her twin sister. She recently met the target weight of 10 kg to be eligible for transplant, and she was approved following the evaluation with the transplant team! Her grandparents and I have completed the initial blood testing for determining donor compatibility and are awaiting news to be called in for our own evaluations.
If all goes smoothly, Eva is set to receive a new kidney in the next couple of months! The care team at UI Stead Family Children's Hospital is amazing at working in conjunction with each other and functioning on the same page (Eva is regularly seen by her nephrologist, dialysis nurses, dietician, feeding specialist, and pediatric surgery nurse for her G-tube, and now by the transplant team). Eva's doctor, Dr. Jetton, shows genuine care and concern for her well-being and is transparent with me regarding her concerns. She takes the time to explain in detail the changes that she believes need to be made to Eva's medications/dialysis treatment that are in her best interest—both at our appointment and during the month when we have questions. The nurses are fantastic and are easily accessible during the month. The transplant team communicated with us very thoroughly and clearly regarding the transplant process, with the surgeon and nephrologist spending hours to answer our questions and make us feel mentally prepared for the journey ahead.
It is so encouraging to know that they all love Eva and are working together toward the goal of transplant and a healthy, best quality of life post-transplant. We honestly feel like part of a greater family working together and couldn't imagine where we would be without them!”