- J
- M
- J
Natalie is an amazing 9 year old little girl with a major incontinence problem. When she was two, she was eager to get out of diapers and couldn’t wait to wear “big girl” panties. She was so easy to potty train. Even though she made regular trips to the bathroom, her underwear always seemed damp.
I addressed the issue with her pediatrician multiple times, just to be told “it’s a phase.” She had one urinary tract infection (UTI) after another. They attributed this to her always being wet. By the time she was 6 she had no less than 10-12 UTI’s. She always smelled of urine. Her doctor finally agreed that maybe something was wrong.
With Natalie now in school, having “accidents” was not something that was socially acceptable. Instead of sending her to school every day with 2-3 pairs of extra pants and underwear, I opted to resort back to disposable pull-up style underwear. She was heartbroken. She didn’t want to wear “diapers” again.
I feard that the other children would pick on her if she continued to wear traditional underwear because she was always damp and constantly smelled of urine. We kept her disposable pull-up underwear a secret so nobody would make fun of her at school.
Natalie was referred to a pediatrics urologist at UC Davis in Sacramento. Dr. Kurzrock and his team haven been amazing. They started her off with a potty schedule and journal to see if maybe she wasn’t going to the bathroom enough. We completed the schedule and journal over a 2 week period... Natalie remained damp. Then it was suggested that she do a type of physical therapy. That too was unsuccessful.
3 years later, after multiple doctor visits, X-rays, MRI’s, CT scans, IV’s, tests, procedures, and mounting medical bills... my baby girl remains damp. They have searched for the root of the problem and have yet to successfully figure it out. They thought maybe she had an ectopic ureter.
On December 21st of 2018, right before Christmas, they preformed an exploratory surgery to try and locate it. The team of doctors was sure that they would find the cause. Natalie counted down the days on the calendar. She couldn’t wait for her procedure. She made the statement to me multiple times “all I want for Christmas is to be fixed.” She was more excited to be going in for laproscopic surgery then she was for Christmas. I sat in the waiting room anxiously waiting to hear from the doctor. “Mrs. O’Brien we weren’t able to find an ectopic ureter.” My heart shattered in to a million pieces when I heard those words. I broke the news to Natalie softly but assured her that we aren’t giving up, we are going to figure out what the issue is.
Long story made short, all attempts to locate the cause of her incontinence have been unsuccessful. They still haven’t found a cause. The next step is a bladder function test. However, the stack of bills continues to grow. I pay what I can but I am unable to keep up. I don’t want to give up on finding the cause of her issue but financially it is becoming unbearable.
She is 9 now, and it’s becoming harder and harder to keep her secret of wearing adult disposable diapers hidden. Her classmates have started to notice. This has taken an emotional toll on her. Her only want is to be rid of the disposable diapers and to be able to “wear underwear like normal kids.”
If there is anything you can give to help with the mounting cost of finding out what is causing her incontinence, I would be incredibly grateful and appreciative.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Shannon O’Brien
Natalie’s mom
I addressed the issue with her pediatrician multiple times, just to be told “it’s a phase.” She had one urinary tract infection (UTI) after another. They attributed this to her always being wet. By the time she was 6 she had no less than 10-12 UTI’s. She always smelled of urine. Her doctor finally agreed that maybe something was wrong.
With Natalie now in school, having “accidents” was not something that was socially acceptable. Instead of sending her to school every day with 2-3 pairs of extra pants and underwear, I opted to resort back to disposable pull-up style underwear. She was heartbroken. She didn’t want to wear “diapers” again.
I feard that the other children would pick on her if she continued to wear traditional underwear because she was always damp and constantly smelled of urine. We kept her disposable pull-up underwear a secret so nobody would make fun of her at school.
Natalie was referred to a pediatrics urologist at UC Davis in Sacramento. Dr. Kurzrock and his team haven been amazing. They started her off with a potty schedule and journal to see if maybe she wasn’t going to the bathroom enough. We completed the schedule and journal over a 2 week period... Natalie remained damp. Then it was suggested that she do a type of physical therapy. That too was unsuccessful.
3 years later, after multiple doctor visits, X-rays, MRI’s, CT scans, IV’s, tests, procedures, and mounting medical bills... my baby girl remains damp. They have searched for the root of the problem and have yet to successfully figure it out. They thought maybe she had an ectopic ureter.
On December 21st of 2018, right before Christmas, they preformed an exploratory surgery to try and locate it. The team of doctors was sure that they would find the cause. Natalie counted down the days on the calendar. She couldn’t wait for her procedure. She made the statement to me multiple times “all I want for Christmas is to be fixed.” She was more excited to be going in for laproscopic surgery then she was for Christmas. I sat in the waiting room anxiously waiting to hear from the doctor. “Mrs. O’Brien we weren’t able to find an ectopic ureter.” My heart shattered in to a million pieces when I heard those words. I broke the news to Natalie softly but assured her that we aren’t giving up, we are going to figure out what the issue is.
Long story made short, all attempts to locate the cause of her incontinence have been unsuccessful. They still haven’t found a cause. The next step is a bladder function test. However, the stack of bills continues to grow. I pay what I can but I am unable to keep up. I don’t want to give up on finding the cause of her issue but financially it is becoming unbearable.
She is 9 now, and it’s becoming harder and harder to keep her secret of wearing adult disposable diapers hidden. Her classmates have started to notice. This has taken an emotional toll on her. Her only want is to be rid of the disposable diapers and to be able to “wear underwear like normal kids.”
If there is anything you can give to help with the mounting cost of finding out what is causing her incontinence, I would be incredibly grateful and appreciative.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Shannon O’Brien
Natalie’s mom