surgery

Since Ariyas Ptosis is bad enough that it blocks her vision, the Dr. wants to have surgery before she is 6 months old, so hopefully there won't be any permanent damage to her vision. After months of visiting with the Pediatric Opthamalogist and The eye surgeon, we finally got it all approved through Insurance, and got the date set to go ahead with her reconstructive eyelid surgery.

In the months leading up to her Surgery, we had to patch her good eye.. She hated these patches, and so did her brothers. They would tell me to get it off of her everytime they saw the patch over her eye.

In the waiting room at PCMC, getting ready to be admitted

Getting Closer to Surgery time.

After they got her all checked in, and her vitals taken we went to the waiting room where we waited for the surgeon and anesthesiologist to come and talk to us.. After about 30 minutes of pure anxiety- the Drs came and "briefed" us on the procedure. afterward we were led back to the hospital doors where we had to hand off our baby girl.. Seriously one of the hardest moments in my life..  We were told it would be about 2 hours, so we decided to go to the cafeteria to get some food. After eating, we went up to the post surgery waiting area to wait for the Dr. to come and explain how it went.. (Thank goodness for smart phones and pinterest to keep my mind from driving me crazy with anxiety) After the doctor went over everything with us, they told us one of us could go back- they actually told us this right before we handed her off as well- and at that point Mike immediately called dubs on being the lucky parent, which of course I disagreed with- so when the actual time came- the nurse that was to walk the parent back, sided with me, and off we went. She had mentioned how funny that this is a very common issue, and she even had one dad get up and run to recovery as soon as they gave the go ahead. For Mikes sake- luckily he didn't attempt that...
When I was brought back to where She was, I was overwhelmed with emotion.. She looked very puffy, her skin was red and she couldn't see (obviously), she was SCREAMING mad.. They handed her to me and I sat and rocked her while they kept giving her meds. There was still an IV in her foot which it seemed to be the biggest thing causing her pain, but the nurses told me they wouldn't take it out yet. She didn't calm down until they moved us to the recovery/ discharge room. (also coincidentally as soon as they took out the stupid IV in her foot) Finally Mike was able to come back and see his little girl. We were discharged not to much longer and homeward bound we went to start the recovery process.. SO thankful for all the love and support we had through this , also SO grateful for modern day medicine and everything they are able to do..

Sitting in the recovery/ discharge area waiting to be able to go home.

the morning after surgery

We had to keep this cream like stuff in her eyes as well as stay on top of her Tylenol/ codeine dosage, but she is doing Awesome!!

Trying to see.. We had to keep the lights low for the first few days afterward

2 days after surgery and looking Great!!

3 days after surgery- almost looks like shes just wearing purple eye shadow now

5 days after surgery ( Valentines day)

a before picture

Here is a after picture.. Now that she is all healed, we can see what a huge difference the surgery made.

cute but blurry smiling pic

The Dr. Says most likely there will be at least one more surgery needed as she grows, but it should mostly be for cosmetic reasons, and not for vision interruption like this one was. The first week or so after surgery, she couldn't close either eyes all the way- and even now-still her left eyelid wont fully, which is a little creepy to see, when shes sleeping. We have also noticed (since this is being posted 5 months later) that whenever she is tired or sick, her eyes definitely get droopy.