'Not something to be played around with': Manitoba family struggles after son diagnosed with rare urinary condition
A Manitoba mom wants other parents to know about a rare urinary tract condition her son was born with that she had never heard of.
Today Ashley Luby’s fourteen-month old son, Fox Chia, is active and doing well but as a newborn he had back-to-back urinary tract infections.
Luby said it was during a second hospital week-long stay when more tests found something was wrong.
"We also determined that he had a distended bladder. So his bladder was thickened which was an indication that his output wasn't happening very easily at all," she said.
This was when she first heard the term "PUV," short for posterior urethral valves.
The condition causes boys to be born with an extra flap of tissue in their urethra, which can stop urination or make it hard to urinate.
"I really want parents to know that this condition exists because it will have life-long consequences if it is not diagnosed in your child," said Luby.
Many PUV cases are found on prenatal ultrasounds, but Fox's case wasn't found until after birth.
Shared Health said the severity of the condition depends on the damage done to the bladder or kidneys, adding some PUV cases are mild with no long-term issues.
“Others never have normal bladder function and may require a kidney transplant when older. These children are followed by both pediatric urology and pediatric nephrology,” read part of a statement by a Shared Health spokesperson.
It said 1 to 3 PUV surgeries are performed each year in Manitoba and most cases are done within six weeks.
Luby told CTV News there is permanent damage to Fox’s bladder and he will likely need specialized care for the rest of his life.
"It's not something to be played around with," she said.
Fox had corrective surgery and was on preventative antibiotics until recently.
"If you have a little boy, and he gets a UTI, that requires investigation immediately," said Luby, who is now working to raise money for research and awareness for PUV and other congenital abnormalities of the kidney and urinary tract.
She also wants more widespread testing for PUV so more cases can be caught early.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.