Our pediatrician referred us to a pediatric opthamologist, Dr. T, who met the week before Thanksgiving. Dr. T's office is geared towards kids and he's super friendly. Henry did great in the office, very little anxiety. Dr. T examined his eyes and sure enough, he had a droopy eye, congenital ptosis. There was more though, his bottom right eyelid was inverted so his eyelashes were growing inward instead of out. The fancy pants term is entropion. He also has astigmatism in both eyes but we will address that issue later once he learns to read.
Dr. T said that we could put ointment on his eyelid every night to soften the lashes and lessen eye irritation but that it would only be a band-aid. In order to correct the issue, Henry would need corrective surgery. We had to get insurance approval before scheduling. Ideally, we wanted to get the surgery done this year so we could take advantage of having met his deductible for the year. It all came together, insurance approved the surgery and we scheduled it for December 20th.
My vacation started the day before, which was really nice because Henry and I got to spend the day together just doing fun stuff. The night before the surgery, we did our normal bath time then bedtime routine but admittedly, I was on edge, nervous about the next day's events. I prayed to the Lord, asked Him for peace and extra love. I was able to get some rest that night and was in a pretty good mood the next morning.
Henry on the other hand.... Yeah, he definitely wasn't amused by his 5 am wake up call or the fact that he had to get in the car sans his beloved morning chocolate milk. He was very irritated and whined quite a bit. We felt really bad for him, but assured him by telling him we were going to see Nana and Papa.
My parents met us at the surgery center and we made it just in time for our 6am appointment. There was a huge salt water tank in the waiting room which Henry really enjoyed. Not long after we arrived, we were called back. Henry screamed through the weigh in and vital check, but was feeling fantastic once the nasal sedative kicked in. He had a permanent grin on his face. He even let the nurse with the crazy reindeer antlers pick him up and take him back to the operating room. After he was out, they put in an IV and did the surgery. It took less than an hour.
Dr. T said that re-directing the eyelids went smoothly but that the ptosis was a little more challenging. He had to cut some of the tissue from the bone but only time will tell if it worked or not. We were very pleased that this eyelashes won't bother him anymore and if he has a slight droopy eye, he will have a little more character. :)
After about 15 minutes, Mike and I were able to go back to the recovery room. Of course the first thing Henry wanted was his Mama, so of course I obliged. We rocked for a while before we were released to go home.
Henry was sent home with a big patch over his eye but we were able to take it off Wednesday morning. He was a real trooper, never really slowed down and he even left the patch on. We gave him Tylenol and Advil throughout the day and that seemed to manage his pain. His eye is still bruised which the doctor said it would be for at least 2-3 weeks. The stitches will dissolve on their own and we will go back in 3 months for a follow up.
Even though the experience went smoothly, we are relieved to have it all behind us. We hated putting him through the surgery and recovery, but in hindsight, it really wasn't so bad.
Snoozing on the way home
Drinkin' my milk, feeling good
4 days post-op, playing on Christmas Eve
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