The muscles in both eyes needed to be loosened to correct a horizontal misalignment. Her right eye needed an additional procedure to correct a vertical misalignment.
The surgery required her to be put under general anesthesia, so she was not able to eat or drink after midnight the night before the procedure. The busy hospital environment distracted her from the fact that she missed breakfast though, so she was in a great mood while waiting for the surgery.
Before putting her under general anesthesia, the nurses gave her a light sedative, Versed. Versed a Cherry flavored oral sedative that made her relaxed, a little loopy, and induced forgetfulness. By the time the nurse carried her back to the OR, she didn't seem to have a care in the world and didn't seem concerned at all about leaving without her mom and dad.
The entire procedure took just over an hour. Waking up from anesthesia was pretty rough. She screamed for a solid ten minutes, pulled at her IV, and asked for me (even though I was laying in the bed with her). Thankfully, after ten minutes of screaming, she fell into a deep sleep. We were even able to change her out of her hospital gown, into her clothes, and carry her to the car without waking her. Needless to say, we did not get our "David Goes To The Dentist" moment.
The rest of the day was also rough. It was: cry, sleep, eat, play, repeat. Luckily, the anesthesia didn't make her sick at all and she had no trouble eating. We gave her Children's Tylenol and used her eye drops for the pain. We have to do eye drops 4x per day for 7 days.
She woke up the next morning in NO PAIN!
She was back to her old self and did not even need Tylenol.
She still has those vampire eyes!
We should have planned ahead and scheduled her surgery for the day before Halloween.
Her eyes have not been wandering like they had been, but occasionally seem to show a little misalignment. The doctor said it may take a little while before her eyes are perfectly straight.
Day 7 After Surgery
Her eyes are still noticeably red, but much of the redness has dissipated and her eyes are looking much better.
She seems to be getting used to her new vision and has been running into things a little more than usual (notice the owie under her left eye).
***
Second Surgery
Second Surgery
After the first surgery, her alignment was much better, but before her 6 week follow up appointment, I noticed that her left eye was drifting up slightly. The doctor confirmed that her left eye now had a vertical misalignment. He said that it is very rare for children to need a second surgery, but occasionally that is the case. We were part of the lucky few who get to go in for surgery round two!
Seven months after the first surgery she went under the knife again. The process was the same and went very smoothly.
Waking up from the anesthesia was MUCH better this time around! I am not sure if it was better because she was older so she was less confused or if the nursing staff just waited longer before they let us see her. Either way, I was a happier mama.
Pupil dilated, bubbly redness.
Woke up without any pain and acted totally normal all day :).
Bruising under eye starting to show up.
Old lady at Papa Murphy's gives me an accusing glare...
Daily dose of gross! Check out the redness hidden under her eyelid!
Day 11: Seeing a little less red
Patch Books
Dinosaur Farm: A Patch Story that is NOT about the Patch
Brennan is a kid who loves dinosaurs. So you can imagine his surprise when he discovers a real, live dinosaur egg on his grandparents' farm. Will it be a meat eating dinosaur or a plant eating dinosaur? Will it be a dinosaur at all? While things may not always be as they seem, Brennan's adventure leads him to a new friend. BRENNAN'S PATCH AND GLASSES Brennan happens to wear glasses and a patch, but his story is not about his patch. In fact, the patch isn't even mentioned in the story. Tellibooks believe kids should be represented in the books they read. We use a child-first storytelling approach to our books, this means our books are always about the kids, not their differences.
Avery is a kid who loves dinosaurs. So you can imagine her surprise when she discovers a real, live dinosaur egg on her grandparents' farm. Will it be a meat eating dinosaur or a plant eating dinosaur? Will it be a dinosaur at all?While things may not always be as they seem, Avery's adventure leads her to a new friend. AVERY'S EYE PATCH Avery wears glasses and a patch, but her story is not about her patch. In fact, the patch isn't even mentioned in the story. Tellibooks believe kids should be represented in the books they read, without feeling like their differences need to be explained.
When Avery's favorite celebrity singer, Blaize, comes to town, she gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet her hero. But when things don't go as planned, it will take kindness and understanding to make the show a success! AVERY'S GLASSES AND PATCH Avery wears glasses and a patch, but her story is about her, not her patch! At Tellibooks, we believe children should feel represented in the stories they read. That's why we make our stories about kids, not their differences.
Thank you for this! We have surgery on July 1 for our 6 year old daughter.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, Shelby! I hope your daughter's surgery goes smoothly!
ReplyDeleteThis was great to read, my 2 year old has this same surgery in January. I’m totally stressing out about it. So nice to see someone document it with pictures.
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