Eye Surgery

 Well, the baby finally had eye surgery after discussing it for a year.  I'm glad its over.  Look at her eyes above.  And now look at them now.  Amazing right?

    Now the rest of this post is purely for journaling purposes so feel free to not read it.  I won't be offended.
   We decided to do surgery on Baby's eyes three months ago when the patching stopped working and in fact, her eyes were getting worse.  We kept patching though because it strengthens the eyes which helps the surgery go better.  So it wasn't a waste which makes me feel better because we patched for more than 9 months and it was a big pain!

    In preparation for the surgery Baby had to have a physical done from her pediatrician and another check up with pictures from her eye doctor.
    A day before the surgery it all came together and was suddenly real and I had a mild panic attach but Brent gave the baby a blessing the Sunday before and I chilled out.  My biggest worry was about starving the baby before the surgery.  Our Pediatrician had recommended I wait until after the surgery to wean the baby and I'm glad I listened.
    I got three hours of sleep the night before the surgery from 12:00 to 3:00.  I fed the baby had 11:30 and then she woke up again at 3:00 AM awake and not wanting to go back to sleep.  So we went downstairs and watched a movie.  I thought she would get mad and want to eat but she was really happy.  Thank goodness for the pacifier.
   Then at 5:00 we got ready to go and a friend came over to stay with the kids and get them ready for school.  The baby fell asleep on the 45 minute drive to the surgery center and then was surprisingly happy while we waited to get checked in.  There were toys there which helped.  Then they put us in a tiny room and did her vitals and had us wait for the eye doctor and then the anesthesiologist to come talk to us.
   This is when the baby decided she had had enough of being pleasant.  She cried and the eye doctor asked me if she was sick and we should reschedule.  I said she was just hungry and tired and can we put her out yet?  By then it was almost 7:00.  Then the anesthesiologist came in and told us he had had this surgery when he was little and it can be hard on the stomach because its so disorienting.  He said his first memory after waking up was puking because it was so weird to see differently.
   Then they took my baby away which was rough because she cried.
   Then we waited and waited and waited.  I was so tired but I couldn't sleep.  Thank goodness for mindless games on the IPAD.  Brent actually worked and got work done.  Finally they called us back and I was thinking I'd get my baby back but it was just the doctor there to report.  I was disappointed and my lack of sleep really hit me then so our conversation was a little hazy.
   They gave her gas to put her to sleep and then got the IV in which I guess took a lot of tries.  Then the surgery went great.  The doctor said there was just one thing that happened and she felt really bad about.  I was thinking she was going to tell me she blinded my baby or something but shes said she accidentally poked her cheek because her chub got in the way of sewing up her eye.  I was so relieved.  "You just scraped her cheek?  Fine, whatever!  But her eyes are OK right?"
    Then finally we got to see our baby after another 10 minute wait.  We found her in a room with a nurse  balling!  It was so sad.  They sat me down and gave her to me and said they were going to go get her some juice.  I said, "Can I just nurse her instead?"  Then the nurse said, "I don't think she will, but you can try if you want."
   Psha!  This is why I hadn't weaned her yet.  For this exact moment.  So of course she nursed while staring at me with her bloody eyes.  I stared back and said things like, "I'm here.  You're safe," etc.  Then the lack of sleep, lack of food, and the blood all got to me.  Not to mention the IV was still in my baby's arm  I started feeling the pre-fainting symptoms I know all too well.  I started yawning and my vision got blurry.  I got sick to my stomach and thought, 'I should ask Brent to hand me the garbage can."  Next thing I know Brent and the nurse were waving their hands in front of my face saying, "Are you OK?"  I had fainted.  I thought, "Thank goodness I didn't puke." and "Man, I'm tired.  Why did you wake me up?  I really needed a nap."   Meanwhile the baby was still nursing.
    Then the nurse decided she should take out the baby's IV so I wouldn't faint again which made things worse but I kept it together.  Then the nurse decided I needed my sweatshirt off because I was so hot.  So she pried me out of it while I was nursing the baby and kind of out of it.  Then she started fanning me and lifting my legs in the air.  It was embarrassing, but soon she left us.
   Finally we got the baby nursed and dressed and they let us go.  The nurse wanted me to use a wheelchair but I refused.  I was fine.
   Then we went home.  The baby and I napped.  When we got home I started looking for some food and the baby lunged at the cupboard and handed me the food she wanted.  I was shocked.  She wasn't supposed to be hungry after the surgery.  She ate a roll and a whole applesauce.
    Then we cleaned up and sat around the rest of the day and took a nap.

   When the kids saw her they were horrified.  MC1 and GC1 avoided looking at her eyes for an entire day and MC1 asked if I could bring her into another room when he was entering the one she was in.  I told him to just not look at her.  MC2 stared at the baby for a full minute and then started crying, "I don't want you to give the baby a shot! Why did you give her a shot?"  Then they started calling her, "Spooky" and "Monster Baby."

    Now we're on our second day post surgery and doing great.  I have to put eye drops in her eyes three times a day which is a joke.  I don't know if they are getting in her eyes.  She screams so much when I do them there has to be something getting in.
     She had another eye doctor appointment yesterday and she's doing better than expected.  We just really hope we won't have to do another surgery.  We'll now in 6 weeks when it is all healed up.  Thank you all for your prayers.