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

Waterpark + Galveston Beach

SURGERY UPDATE: We are home now and we were told by Dr. Pacey the surgery went well.  Hailey has been really tired and her eyes have been quite painful. We are told everything will be blurry and sensitive until they are healed.  She has a follow up appointment on Monday.  I will write a full post about the surgery soon.

So nobody told us Houston was the fourth largest city in the US. It was so busy!  I was glad Scott was driving.  Sometimes on the freeways and overpasses I felt like I was on a rollercoster.

Since we had about 5 days between the pre-op appointment and  the surgery we decided  to try and do some fun things with Hailey.  We knew that anything to do with water would be a bonus.  Besides her iPod, swimming is her favorite thing to do.   We took her to a water park which was fun except that there was only about one slide we were able to go down on with her.  But she didn’t seem to notice. I am pretty sure we went down that slide more than 25 times.  It was good exercise climbing up the stairs!  She also loved the lazy river.

We also went to Galveston which is about an hour from Houston.  Hailey has never been in the ocean or even on beach sand.  We knew that the beach wasn’t going to be the best because of all the seaweed this time of year but she didn’t mind.  When we first got there she did not want to move out of the stroller.  Once we got her into the ocean she loved it!  The water was bath tub warm (Gulf of Mexico) and you could walk out forever. She loved it when the waves would splash up onto her . She sat in the shallow water for hours just picking up the sand between her fingers.  All in all I would rate that as a 10 for her!  Except I forgot we all got burnt!

Did I mention that the condo we stayed at had a pool.  That was great. It was only about a 30 second walk from our place.  We were usually the only ones in the pool except for the day of the Garcia Family reunion and then we were very outnumbered!  She kept asking for hot which is the hot tub. Unfortunately the condo didn’t have one so after every swim we made our own hot tub in the bath tub!  

Our last venture was to the downtown aquarium.  We enjoyed it!  I am not sure she could see the fish very well through the glass but it was a fun outing never the less.

My niece Kristy who used to live in Houston gave us a list of places to eat and they did not disappoint.  We had fun trying all kinds of foods from seafood to barbecue to Mexican.  Our favorite had to be the Baja shrimp tacos from Torchy’s  Yes to die for and yes we visited that place twice and could of gone more!  Hailey is not a fan of sitting in restaurants  but she did pretty good.  Actually better than we anticipated.  We ran out of days before we ran out of places that we wanted to try.  Once Hailey had her surgery we were pretty much bound to the condo so we are glad we go to experience Houston  in a small way!

The Trip + Pre-Op Appointment

 Well we arrived in Houston on Tuesday evening.  Hailey was pretty terrified on the takeoff from Great Falls (ok very terrified) but by the time we landed it didn't phase her quite as much. Maybe we are getting better at distracting her!! Scott got the flu on the airplane and Hailey followed the next day. She was pretty sick but it only lasted just over a day.  

Houston is hot and humid  but the place we are staying has a pool to help cool us off .

Hailey had her pre-op appointment on Wednesday at the Children's Hospital. We ended up being there about three hours. It was nice to meet all of the people that I had been talking to on the phone for the last 6 months.   

The Doctor put drops in her eyes so she could examine them and get measurements. Hailey was so good I could not believe it.  She has been to see the ophthalmologist many times and usually very uncooperative and scared. I never know how they can tell anything about her vision because she is usually so uncooperative. .This  time she sat with Scott and let Dr. Pacey examine her eyes and get measurements etc. I could not believe it!! It was almost like she knew she had to do this. She sat for about 10 minutest   We are greatful for tender mercies!  Dr. Pacey explained the surgery and about how she will be after the surgery.  I guess the big trick is to not let her rub her eyes !  That is going to be tough. The doctor was very positive about the surgery and the outcome.  I felt way better after talking with her. She was really nice and so calm that it put us at ease. I am thinking Hailey felt it too.  

So now it is the wait till the surgery on Monday. Hailey is having a bit of a hard time adjusting to lack of her normal routine but we are trying to do some fun things with her.  We went to the water park and to the beach in Galveston and she absolutely loved it! We will post more about that on Monday!

Thanks to all of our friends and family for your concern and support, we would not be here without it.

Here are some pictures from so far (forgive the phone quality)

Here is the Texas Children's Hospital where she will be having her surgery

Hailey at the airport waiting to board the plane.  She loves the iPad.

Hailey and Scott at the airport!  A huge thank you to our friends Dale and Becky Fyfe for lending us their stroller for the trip.  It has been an absolute lifesaver!!

Hailey waiting for the doctor at the pre-op appointment

The Children's Hospital