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| © Holly DeWolf- Kidney Stone! |
Our latest learning theme was chosen by the girls after my trip to the hospital. It seems I had a run in with a pesky kidney stone. Needless to say, this incident was painful but at least now I know what has been ailing me the past month.
The girls found this fascinating especially the stone I managed to retrieve. Under the magnifying glass it went! How did this all happen? Not sure. According the doc, it happens to many. Sometimes your body just makes them. Each type of stone has it’s own unique colour and shape depending on what its made from.
And the jokes began of course:
• The little pebble that could!
• Mum passed the great pebble!
• Two kidney’s and a stone walk into a bar…
• Mum cast her first sorcerer stone!
• A rolling kidney stone gathers no friends!
• Mum is a kidney stone away from feeling better.
All joking aside, I hope there are not anymore. I have a CAT scan scheduled to find that out soon.
Interesting facts about our kidneys:
• They come joined as a pair.
• Our kidneys have a higher blood flow than our brain, liver or heart.
• Kidneys produce hormones including calcitriol, erythropoietin, and the enzyme renin.
• They are essential in the urinary system regulating electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and regulation of blood pressure (maintaining salt and water balance). They work as a natural filter of the blood, and remove wastes which makes its way to the urinary bladder.
• Disorders of the kidneys are: kidney stones, kidney failure, injury, and cancer, renal cell carcinoma.
• Dialysis is a procedure for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is used primarily as an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure.
• Kidneys can be replaced from by a donor kidney transplant.
• Your kidneys hang out one on each side of the spine
• You can live with just one kidney!
• Kidneys are shaped like a bean.
• Kidney stones are an accumulation of mineral salts and mostly combined with calcium that can become stuck along the course of the urinary tract. It hurts, believe me!
• Our kidneys are about 4 ½ inches long each weighing 4 to 6 ounces.
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| © Hannah- Love Your Kidneys |
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| © Reagen DeWolf- Healthy kidneys are happy kidneys! |