Surgery Day

The long awaited day...

Well the day we have been waiting for for the past 5 years had finally come. So with a lot of nervousness and excitement, we drove to the Texas Children’s hospital for Hailey's surgery.  Everyday in Houston has been really warm and humid.  The day of Hailey's surgery was cloudy and rainy.  When I went outside I was pleasantly surprised at how warm the rain felt.  When we got to the hospital everyone was so kind and helpful.  We had at least 3 doctors come and talk to us about the surgery and explained everything to us very thoroughly.  Hailey was in good spirits all that morning.  Usually when we go even near the hospital she gets knows something is going to happen and she gets very anxious and scared.  Today she handled it like a trooper.  

They gave her some pre-sedation to calm her before the OR and it also has an amnesic effect so she won’t remember what happened.  So for those who don’t know what PRK  surgery is (and I didn't either really) In a nutshell they take off a layer of the cornea and reshape it.  This surgery works well with children who have very poor vision and are non compliant with traditional therapies like glasses.  They are hoping that within 6-12 months her vision will be markedly improved. 

Hailey was in the OR for about an hour but the laser surgery itself is very quick.  We were quite relieved when Dr Paysee came out after the surgery and told us that things went very well.  As soon as she started to wake up they called us into the recovery room to be with her.  I love that we were able to do that.  They were putting a type of restraint on her arms called No Nos.  It is so she can’t bend her arms to reach up to rub her eyes and pull off the plastic type bandage she had over her eyes.  They realized very quickly how fast and strong she is.  She was a little agitated and uncomfortable when she woke up so they gave her a couple of doses of morphine which really helped.  Needless to say she was pretty sleepy and so she spent about 3 hours in recovery and then we were able to take her back to the condo where we were staying.  She could hardly stay awake on the way home.  It didn’t take long for her to rip off the plastic eye patches which is what they warned us she would do. but said not to worry about it if she does..

Hailey slept most of that day and night. The doctor gave us two sets of eye drops which are very important. One is an antibiotic and the other a steroid. We have to put them in 4 times a day and we have to be very diligent in order to prevent complications such as infection and corneal haze.  

Nobody warned us about what was about to ensue. The first night putting in the drops was no too bad but she was still  quite sedated.  The next morning we thought we could slip them into her eyes while she was sleeping  Big Mistake! Big Big Mistake!  I can’t even describe how traumatic it was for her and us.  Later that day I called the nurse because I didn't think we could do it again without some kind of sedation and Tylenol and Ibuprofen didn't do the trick.  They said it is very painful because her cornea has been scraped and her eyes are quite swollen and there really was no easy way to put in the drops.   Each time we had to do the drops we were so dreading it and nervous for us and her.  Scott ended up putting on his coat with gloves so that Hailey couldn't scratch or bite him while we put in the drops.  I know it was so painful for her and she could not understand what was happening to her. Well  each day is getting a little bit easier.  We have to continue this for the next 6 months  Yikes

She is very sensitive to the light so we spent the first couple of days in the dark .  Now she is getting more used to daylight and starting to get back to her normal self.  The flight home which we were also dreading turned out  to be very uneventful.  I am sure the person behind her seat didn't appreciate all of her rocking  but what can you do.  She was entertained with her music.  

Well I am sure everyone wants to know the big question. Can she see better?  Well we think so.  But from talking with the doctors there is some improvement right away especially for kids like Hailey who have been seeing blurry their whole lives.  They say that this surgery opens a whole new world to these children allowing them to live fuller happier lives instead of living in visual isolation.  They sometimes refer to it as visual autism because the lack of vision affects their social and developmental interactions so we think everyday is getting better.  We go to Calgary to see the ophthalmologist for our one week follow up appointment and then we will have a much better idea of where she is at.  What we have noticed is that she seems to be looking at the pictures on the iPad instead of just listening to the sounds.  Her walk seems to be a little smoother so we know there are some improvements already  Hooray!

We will keep you all posted.  Once again thank you for all of your love and support!  You have made a huge impact on our lives and especially for Hailey!

PS:I just have to say that we really enjoyed being in Texas. It was our first time and maybe we will go back under different circumstances another time.  I loved being call ma'am all the time!  It is for real y'all .

^^^Good to be home