A real life account of beautiful Elsie and how she lives with cystinosis
Before having children the holidays were never really that big of a deal to me. It was always nice to have those few days that our family got together to celebrate and I loved trying to find that perfect gift for them but holiday cheer and activities were never high on my priority list. However… Continue reading Holiday Giving
Nothing can hold this girl back! We recently had our quarterly check up at the renal clinic and Elsie is doing well and growing like a weed. She is now in the 24th percentile for weight and 31st percentile for height which is just so amazing to hear. Take that cystinosis! Right around this time… Continue reading She Just Keeps Growing!
Tonight the cystinosis community is paying tribute to three young adults who passed away this past week with a worldwide candle lighting ceremony. We've only been a part of this community for about two years but more losses have been felt than I expected for such a rare disease. Although I have not known any… Continue reading A Loving Tribute
Not long ago cystinosis was most definitely a terminal disease. Even up until the early 90's parents whose children were just diagnosed were told their child would likely not live past 10 years old. But with the introduction of Cysteamine treatment (now a days Cystagon and Procysbi) people with cystinosis are living longer than ever!… Continue reading Is it Terminal?
Every two years the Cystinosis Research Network holds a family conference where families can get together for a few days, attend the many information sessions by leading experts in cystinosis patient care and children, teens and adults alike can have some fun. Sadly we have not had a chance to attend one of these conferences… Continue reading Dream, Achieve, Inspire
Recently a family in the cystinosis community made a shocking and upsetting discovery this past week in something that I'm assuming was meant to be a light hearted gift. We've all seen those bathroom books before, usually full of strange, little known facts meant to elicit a few chuckles. So when I saw a picture… Continue reading My Daughter’s Disease is Not Useless Information
So it's been awhile since I posted an update on Elsie and that's mainly because she's been doing really well! Her weight and height have been following the growth curve at about the 15th percentile which is awesome. And for the most part her levels have been really good with the exception of her potassium… Continue reading How Things Are Going
That beautiful girl in the poster is Abbi, a fun loving soon to be 9 year old living with cystinosis. April 13th is her birthday and to celebrate for the past few years her school has done Sunglass Day, where kids could wear their sunglasses to school in honour of Abbi for a small donation,… Continue reading Cystinosis Sunglass Day
This past week Elsie became a big sister to her little brother Linden. Linden came early and unexpectedly (born at 36 1/2 weeks) but he is doing well and we are all so in love with him. Above is a picture of Elsie meeting him for the first time. The way she is with… Continue reading Welcome Baby Linden
Almost every person with cystinosis also has Fanconi's Syndrome (early diagnosis helps!), which causes, among other things, excessive urination. There's a great diagram in Jessica Jondle's book Roller Skating with Rickets (originally appeared in the Parent's Guide to Cystinosis) that depicts the kidneys as big water jugs missing a valve, where the cystinosis jugs are constantly emptying no matter… Continue reading Preventative Bed Wetting Measures
Elsinosis: Living with Cystinosis 