Fixing J’s Overshot

Potty training is never fun and always full of messes but potty training twin boys is twice the mess. We noticed early on that J. had trouble aiming and controlling during trips to the potty - we called it his over-shot. He was quickly grew frustrated and began refusing to potty unless it was outside (we live in a rural area with virtually no neighbors). And we were growing frustrated not knowing how to help him - not to mention constantly cleaning the bathroom.

Once he began preschool, they too noticed the problem. We assumed he was just too immature to aim or control his urges to urinate, and it was a few weeks later before we knew what was going on. During a visit to my mom's church, our aunt, who was J's Sunday School teacher, noticed his projectile urination and instantly knew what it was. She had seen the same problem in another nephew. Finally, a starting point.

After a trip to J's pediatrician, we were recommended to a Urologist who quickly diagnosed J with meatal stenosis - an abnormal narrowing of the urethral meatus. The doctor assured us that a simple surgery would repair J's issue and he would be able to urinate into the potty without issue. A date was set, breakfast was skipped and we showed up on a cold February morning to have J's surgery.

The surgery went well, J enjoyed all the solitary attention (as any twin would), and was so excited the first time he went to the bathroom without spraying the walls. Since then, J has made a full recovery and we now spread the word about his condition whenever we hear of other moms having issues with potty training boys.

The insurance company covered only a few hundred dollars of his surgery and we were left with a $2873 hospital bill and $500 doctor bill. We made monthly payments and have paid off the doctor bill and part of the hospital bill but are still left with $2157 remaining. Although we were making payments, the hospital was required to turn our account over to a collection agency.

We are in the process of improving our credit score in the hopes of purchasing a new (to us) home and would love to be able to pay off this last remaining debt.