Thien Nhan isn't feeling well today, slept badly last night and has a poor appetite. A storm is brewing in Hanoi and changes in weather typically cause Thien Nhan's leg stump to ache.
On the surgical front, we're waiting for some pioneering reconstructive surgeons in Washington DC to review Thien Nhan's case. If this lead doesn't pan out, we'll likely send him somewhere closer to home for urethral dilation--the first, relatively simple procedure that he needs. While he definitely needs urethral dilation within the next few months, at this moment he isn't in pain, so we've decided to wait and see about Washington...
When Thien Nhan was first adopted (and prior to that), peeing was a nightmare for him as he often had urinary tract infections, was severely dehydrated, and was unused to being offered a lot of liquids. By keeping him very clean and ensuring that he drinks loads of water, his new parents are helping to make peeing less uncomfortable for him.
In the first weeks that they had him, in order to obtain urine samples and monitor his urine output, family members would take turns following him around the house with a plastic cup, which rarely worked! They were so desperate to get a sample at one point that when he piddled on the floor they used a teaspoon to try to collect it...
