Emma's eyes are pretty straight even without her glasses on. The surgery was a success even 2-3 years later. She hasn't needed a second surgery, and we are very thankful for that!
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Since the surgery Emma's eyes look much straighter and aligned better. She still wears glasses and her new ones are a very pretty purple with hearts. She got to pick out her own this time. We switched her eye doctors to where I've gone my whole life.
Emma's eye problem runs within the family and is genetically caused. We were able to detect it early on and get it corrected. This genetic disorder has caused two other people in my family, to become legally blind in one eye. Over this summer, Emma was playing outside and may fly bit her right above her eye lid. Her eye swelled up like a golf ball. So I spent mothers day in the hospital with my little one and my husband. Grandma helped with the other two. The hospital did a very good job with Emma. Sje really didn't understand what was happening because het good eye wasn't effected. She could see. I don't think it would have went as smoothly if her other eye was the one shut. The hospital gave her a double dose of benadryl and some steroids. It was better by the next morning. A warm compress helped drain the fluid as well. We made her an eye doctors appointment and her Dr. said may fly bites tend to look worse then they really. He gave Emma an eye test and wrote her a slightly weaker prescription for her glasses. She seems to be doing well with them. Diagnosis:
Lazy eye in Left eye Smaller Retina in Left eye Near Sighted one eye and Far Sighted in other eye DAY 1 Tuesday 8/9/11 Treatment: Eye drops every 24 hours Monday through Friday Last night I put the eye drops in Emma's eye for the first time... we did it while I was rocking her to sleep and she was calm and didn't fuss, then shortly after fell asleep. I wanted to make putting the drops in least traumatic as possible so that was a success ... the eye drops work for 24 hours so it doesn't matter what time of day I put them in. One of her eyes are dilated like I was told they'd be and she seems to be doing fine, passing the ball back and forth like normal and her left eye isn't turning in as much ... its just the first day of treatment but I'm glad to know she isn't having a bad reaction to treatment. there is no way she would keep a patch on because when you cover her good eye she would freak out like she couldn't see anything... but if you covered her bad eye she would leave the patch on and not bother with it... I'm still waiting for her glasses to come in and I think she will do very well with them... when we were in the eye Doctor’s office trying glasses on her she just let us put them on her and didn't try to take them off at all... I'm going to continue doing exercises that have her focus with her eyes while she’s on the drops such as passing the ball back and forth and reading books to her... if anyone has any other ideas please feel free to comment. I will also continue to examine her eyes throughout the day and make note of progress. As of right now the eye drops don’t affect the way she plays and moves around. Day 2 Wednesday 8/10/11 Treatment: Eye drops in right eye every week day These drops are supposed to blur the vision in her right eye to make her left eye work stronger. This is very important to do before she has surgery or the surgery won’t last long and it won’t be as effective. She doesn't seem to be bothered by the drops and isn't fighting us to take them. It makes her eyes dilated like when you go to the eye Dr. for the test to see how well you can see. She had an MRI a couple months ago and it concluded that she has a smaller retina in her left eye then in her right. That means not as much light is getting into that eye as needed to help her see, and that is why it’s turning in. Her right eye has good sight and she uses that to see. Her other eye wanders because she’s not using it. Using the eye drops or a patch on her good eye will force her left eye to be used. Eye drops are not as effective as a patch but she will not keep a patch on. This child will barely keep a hat on never mind a patch. So I'm hoping that when her glasses come in she will keep them on, but i don't think it will be a problem because she'll be happy she can see. Even though they are prescription glasses the eye Dr. said they are more for protection of her eyes while she is playing then anything. Her prescription is 0.50 in her right eye and 2.00 in her left eye. She is scheduled for surgery on September 14, 2011. They will call me soon with a time, and I will keep everyone updated. I'm getting more nervous as it gets closer and I'm also due September 29th. I'm trying to keep stress down to a minimum and spend lots of time with Emma before the new baby comes. Sunday 9/4/11 I’ve been continuing to do the drops in her eyes and tomorrow I am going to pick up her glasses. The drops seem to be helping while she uses them but when she doesn't have them in her eye just goes back to going in. Hopefully the glasses help along with the drops. Glasses take forever to come in I'm glad that they are finally ready!! Her Pre operation physical is scheduled for September 6th to make sure that she is ready and healthy enough for surgery, which she is a very healthy child and I don't think that will be a problem at all. I'll keep you updated and post a picture of her in her glasses!! She's going to look so cute in glasses!! Tuesday 9/6/2011 Emma had her pr-operation physical today. The doctor said she weighs 23 pounds, no sign of an ear infection, her breathing sounds great, and she is healthy. She has the OK for surgery and to go ahead with the surgery as planned. The doctor was glad to hear that she has been seeing the eye doctor and is getting the surgery done. She also said that her eye has improved since the first time she seen her and that we were doing a great job taking care of it. The doctor said that Emma is advanced in her speech and after the surgery she will probably start walking. We have been putting her glasses on her every day from the time she wakes up, till she takes a nap. When she wakes up from her nap we put her glasses back on her until bed time. They are regular glasses with metal frames, and an adjustable strap you can attach to the back to keep her from pulling them off. She doesn’t have a problem wearing her glasses she does a great job keeping them on and is getting used to them. I don’t have her wear them in the car, for safety reasons. If she was to pull them off in the car, I’m getting too big to turn around and reach back there to fix them. Wednesday 9/14/2011 Emma's Surgery After Care: Alcon Drops How Surgery Went: Sorry I haven't had a chance to update this blog; it's been very busy in my house lately. I have doctor appointments for myself almost twice a week for the pregnancy, Emma's needed all my attention, and my husband has done a great job spending time with Emma so I can rest. Last week Emma had corrective surgery on her left eye, for her lazy eye. We arrived at the hospital for six am, and by eight am she was in the operating room. It was very stressful, and I had to remind myself it's for the best. Thinking back, I'm glad it's over. Being a parent it's hard to see your child go through something so traumatic. It's hard when there is nothing you can do, knowing that you can't take their place. I would have done this surgery six times over, for her not to go through the surgery herself. A part of being a good parent is getting them the help and medical attention the child needs promptly. Also, knowing I was 37 weeks pregnant, I needed to make sure I kept the stress level low. It was important that Emma had the surgery before the new baby came. Before Emma's surgery, we talked to the Dr. doing the surgery and the anesthesiologist. They asked questions making sure that she was cleared by her Primary Dr. for surgery and that she hasn't been sick recently. They asked me if anyone in the family has ever had a problem with anesthesia, and if she has ever had it before. One thing that bothered me was they told me that they were not going to try to put her IV in her hand that it was going in her foot. I didn't think much of this at first because at Boston Children's Hospital, where she had her MRI, they put it in her hand. After she came out of surgery she had a collapsed vein in her hand, and the IV was in her foot. I didn't notice her hand until we got home, and it made me feel very uneasy. The anesthesiologist went over how they were going to sedate her. They used the gas mask to sedate her, instead of putting the medicine in her IV like they did at the other hospital for her MRI. They assured me that everything was going to be alright. Then the anesthesiologist had me sign all these frightening papers stating the things that could go wrong. When Emma woke up from surgery, she was very upset and in a lot of pain. Her eye was bloody and red. When she cried, she had tears of blood. It wasn't continuous, as in it wasn't gushing blood and only happened when she got upset and cried. The Dr. reassured me that it wouldn't do that for long. But if her eye continued to do so, call them. She sucked down a whole cup full of apple juice right away. She was very edgy and every couple minutes would just start crying. I was so nervous about bringing her home, just in case something went wrong. I rocked her in a rocking chair for almost an hour, to keep her comfortable. The nurse said she was fine to go home as soon as we were ready because we were able to comfort her. My husband brought her bag to the car and pulled up to the door. Then the nurse wheeled Emma and I, to the entrance in a wheel chair. On the way home we put a blanket up to keep the sun from her eyes, and I sat in the back seat with her to make sure she was safe. The Doctor told us after the surgery not to worry if her eye isn’t completely straight right now. It may wander here and there until it’s completely healed and settled. Recovery time will take up to two weeks for her eye to fully heal, six weeks to see the final results from her surgery. For after care, they gave her drops called Alcon. They told me to put one drop in her left eye, once in the morning and once at night, for five days. These drops are to prevent infection and keep the eye clean. Also, at bath time keep dirty soapy water out of her eyes. To keep her eye clean, I used a warm, wet cotton ball and gently swiped from the inside out once, and then threw the cotton ball out. The doctor didn’t want us to do it constantly, because it could get irritated, so I only did after we put the drops in. The drops made her upset at first, but after a couple days past they didn't seem to bother her. She was also to wear her glasses right away. I found that this kept her eye safe and her from rubbing her eye. Overall, the surgery went well and we should see the full results from her surgery, in about 6 weeks from the day she had the surgery. Her follow-up appointment at the eye doctors is scheduled for the 19th of september, in six days. Monday 9/19/2011 Emma’s Follow-up Appointment The doctor was impressed with the way her eye is healing. He said her eye is healing faster than expected and there is no sign of infection. Her eye looks great for having surgery less than a week ago. There is no need to use the Alcon Drops anymore, and to discontinue use. Her eye is clean and the redness is clearing up nicely. Her eye still wanders, but for the most part is straight and is nothing to worry about right now. It will still be about five weeks before we see the full affects from surgery. In a week from today he wants us to return using the drops that blur her vision in her right eye again, to strengthen her left eye. He was happy to see her wearing her glasses and to see how well she is recovering from surgery. She played with the toys in the room for most of the time we talked to the doctor, and he was glad to see that she was back to normal and the surgery didn’t affect the way she plays and gets around. She is however standing more and can stand on her own now, without holding onto anything. When you try to walk with her, she no longer slams herself down so she doesn’t have to. She is now interested in walking and could be walking any day now. He scheduled her next eye exam for October 31st on Halloween, and wants her to come to the appointment in her costume. We are looking forward to it. |
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