Welcome to 4FoxSake #PUVWARRIORS

Fox came in to the World on March 27th, 2022 at 7:30pm. From that moment we not only knew Fox was special, we knew something was seriously wrong. After two nights of recovery, we were off to spend 27 'joyous' days at home watching our baby declining and on that 27th day he spiked his first fever which became our first hospital ICU stay with an evident concern - not just our sixth sense.

After running tests, it was determined that he had a UTI. By the way, boys don't get UTI's but, he had one and then just like clockwork, had another one and so on and so forth and we couldn't figure out why. We felt in our gut we needed to see a specialist but on paper he was just having reoccurring UTI infections. That seems relatively minor, right? It's not.

Our mental health was plummeting and the fear of ANOTHER hospital stay was daunting and at this point, inevitable. This is when we went on a whim and called the SickKids Urology department because we were so desperate for answers. By the grace of God, we got on a call with the head of the department, Mandy. We explained everything that has happened to-date all the while thinking she is going to assume we're insane. But, we weren't and she heard us loud and clear. 'Can you get here on Monday?' she asked. We responded 'Yes' and hung up the phone with fingers crossed that we could even find a flight over the long weekend.

Monday we met NP Mandy Rickard and Dr Armando Lorenzo - Although, they're more like angels to us. Monday tests, Wednesday more tests, Friday surgery and finally a diagnosis after 5 long months. Your son has a rare condition called PUV, Posterior Urethral Valves and we are going to get to know one another well because we will be following him every 3-6 months until he is 18 years old to ensure his bladder function is maintained and his condition remains stable.

We've never been so thankful and heart broken at the same time. 

BUT, it's time to change the narrative. Fox is more than his condition and we hope his story will blaze the trail in urgency for better care, more tests and raising awareness on kidney, bladder and urinary tract issues (including PUV). 

Fox is 1 in 10,000 kids who are diagnosed with PUV. 

Without prompt and proper treatment, PUV kids experience kidney failure and/or fatality. 

Thanks to SickKids this isn't us. They saved our Son. 

And now, we as a family want to raise awareness to help inform and protect others.