Anna's Surgery

As most of you know, Anna's eye surgery was last Thursday.  As far as we can tell, the surgery was a success!  Her eyes look SO much better than before.  They seem to be tracking together really well, better than they ever have before.  It's almost strange to see...we were so used to the left eye being turned in that it's weird to see it looking straight and moving with the right eye.  Her eyes are still a little red but looking better every day.  We have to put antibiotic drops in three times a day, which Anna HATES.  But no more eye patch and hopefully no more surgeries!  We take her in for a follow-up appointment this afternoon, so we'll find out what the doctor has to say.  But we're feeling pretty optimistic!

The surgery was early Thursday morning.  We had to be to the surgery center at 7:00 a.m.  Derek and I woke up about 5:00 a.m. and showered and dressed.  We planned to wait to wake up Anna until right before we had to leave, but she woke up around 5:45, wanting to nurse. She couldn't eat for 5 hours before, which I was really worried about because she rarely goes that long.  Luckily, she handled it pretty well.  We got her up and got her dressed.  Then before we left, Derek gave her a blessing.

In the waiting area

It was a pretty cold and rainy day.  We got to the surgery center a few minutes early. We had to fill out some paperwork, and then we sat in the waiting room until about 7:45.   Then the nurse took us back to weigh Anna and take her vitals.  Her opthamologist (who performed the surgery) came to talk to us briefly.  Then the anesthesiologist came to tell us about how she would be put under and how long it would be before she woke up.

Then he swept her away.  We had planned to stay with her until they put her under, but they didn't give us the option.  It probably was better that way.  I think it would have been hard for me to watch.  After they took her, they led us to another waiting room next to the recovery room.  The surgery took about an hour.  It was a LONG hour.

Finally, the doctor came in and told us everything went well.  Then he talked to us about what to expect in the next few days as far as her recovery.  He told us Anna was still sleeping, but that she would be waking up soon. We could see Anna in the recovery room through the window.  Derek tried to walk over to her bed, but the nurses told us we couldn't go in there and that they would bring her to us as soon as she woke up.

About ten minutes later, they finally brought Anna to us.  She was just barely starting to stir, and her eyes were still closed.  It was so sad to see.  Her eyes were all puffy and there were a few drops of dried blood around them.  As she started to wake up more, she started crying (her voice was all horse from the tube they put down her throat).  She was NOT happy.  I tried nursing her and that helped calm her down a little.  Then the nurse came to take her vitals, and that made her mad again.  She wouldn't eat after that or take her pacifier.  I finally got her to stop crying by holding her upright with her head lying on my shoulder. That is my favorite way to hold her, but she hardly ever does it anymore, so I was kind-of loving it. :)  The nurse came in one more time to check her vital signs, and when everything looked good, they said we could go.

Anna had fallen back asleep by then, and we managed to slip her into her car seat without waking her up.  She slept the whole way home.  When we got home, she woke up and finally opened her eyes. We were a little worried at first because they still looked crossed!  But I think it was just because she was still pretty groggy.  After a few minutes, they looked as straight as can be!  Here's a before and after picture.

Before.

After.  So much better, huh?!

She was pretty fussy the rest of the day...not super cranky, but not her usual happy self.  We could tell her eyes were bothering her because she kept trying to rub them.  And they just looked like they hurt!  They were SO red and sometimes a little blood would trickle out of the corner.  They kind-of looked like eyes out of a horror movie, haha.  And she was so sleepy!  I think she was awake a total of maybe six hours that day!

But by the evening, she was starting to act more like herself, smiling and wanting to get down on the floor and scoot around.  And the next day, she was almost completely back to her normal, happy self.

We are just feeling so grateful that everything went so well!  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers through this whole ordeal.  We really, really appreciate it!