Calvin Weimer

Welcome to Calvin's CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place.

In 2015, Calvin was diagnosed with hypertension with unknown etiology. Further tests revealed that his kidneys were echogenic and he was diagnosed with Kidney Disease, Stage 2.  The cause of the kidney damage was unknown so his hypertension was managed and his kidney's were monitored by a Pediatric Nephrologist.  In late January, Calvin was having a Nuclear Medicine Study completed and his routine kidney ultrasound. During his ultrasound, the diligent tech discovered damage to additional organs. A second ultrasound confirmed that Calvin's spleen was damaged and his liver was necrotic. Calvin's Nephrologist took immediate action and ordered several blood tests and submitted referrals to a Pediatric Hepatologist (Liver doctor) and Pediatric Geneticist.

There is SO much we don't yet know but this is what we know right now:
1) Blood tests ruled out Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV
2) Blood tests indicate his kidney and liver function are ok for now
3) Calvin will see the Hepatologist on 2/15/18
4) Calvin will have a kidney biopsy on 3/9/18
5) Calvin will see the Geneticist on 3/13/18. The purpose of this visit is to determine if a genetic disorder is the cause of Calvin's health problems. They are specifically looking at Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD).
6) Outwardly, Calvin is healthy, showing no symptoms and living the life of an average 8 year old.

Nick and I struggle with asking for help even when it's as simple as asking for words of hope and encouragement. But we recognize that Calvin, Josh and both of us need all the support we can get these coming weeks, months and years.

We greatly appreciate your support. We may take time to ourselves to process new developments but we are committed to keeping everyone updated as the time is right. Thank you for visiting.

Love,
Heather, Nick, Calvin and Joshua