Eden's eye surgery was nine weeks ago and her eye looks fantastic. She literally sleeps with one eye open and if you don't realize that, it's a bit jarring.
Since her surgical records didn't get sent to the local ophthalmologist and we had questions he couldn't answer, he recommended we set up an additional appointment with the surgeon. When I called in January, the soonest they could get us in was this morning at 730 am. So off we went.
We left around 330 yesterday and we weren't even as far as the Convention Center before Eden heaved a huge sigh and said "I just miss Daddy." We hadn't been gone 30 seconds. This girl.
We met my sister at a surprisingly good pizza place just off 30 in Fort Worth and sat and chatted for a while before heading to the hotel. We got there around 8 and Eden recognized it as the hotel we swam at back in September and asked if we were going to swim. I shut that down fast.
I was tired and sore after driving (I felt a little tense driving in the fog and mist after dark on the highway in Dallas) so I was asleep by around 930 or 10. I woke up at 130 am for no discernible reason and couldn't sleep for about an hour. Austin said at home, that might have been around the time Rebekah woke up.
Sounds about right: she's waking me up even when I'm 3 hours away.
Since the appointment was at 730 in the morning and we needed breakfast before, the alarm went off at 530. I snoozed until 545, then we got up and got dressed. She wakes up fairly easily, so that was nice. She ate most of the pancakes and drank most of her chocolate milk before dropping the cup upside down on the floor.
We watched some PBS kids then headed out at 7 for the office, which is hospital adjacent but not in the actual hospital. We were doing so good on time, we got there 15 minutes before our appointment (my usual goal) and the office wasn't even open.
Once we were in, it went pretty quickly. We checked in, watched a few minutes of Disney, then got called to a room. The nurse/tech checked her vision (looked like about 20/40 and 20/35 for left and right respectively. A female doctor came in and checked it again and answered some questions, then she left and we waited to see the surgeon, something I specifically requested.
His first words in the door were "She looks beautiful!" which, duh. It's Eden. Confidence all the way. She just asked him to move so she could keep watching the movie they were playing on the tv.
The eye being open when she sleeps is normal. The muscles are kind of messed up, even after surgery, so that's ok. She hasn't complained about dry eyes or anything but if she does we can do drops if needed.
Everything healed wonderfully and as expected, so we feel good that we didn't mess something up.
As for the big question, the repeat surgeries, we got some final peace of mind on that one. Eden will need multiple eyelid surgeries, but not annually. She'll need maybe three surgeries total between birth and around 15, when she'll be about done growing. We'll notice when it needs to be done again because her eyelid will start to droop again. She will definitely need to be seen by an ophthalmologist annually the rest of her life, but that's not a huge deal since Austin and I do already.
He said that in the future, if we need to see him, he has an office in Fort Worth and he doesn't normally see children there, but he might see Eden if needed. Which is nice, since that's a little closer than Children's, plus an office will be easier to navigate than the hospital.
We were done with the appointment and out the door by 8 am. Which is amazing. We were home by 1130 after a stop for a bathroom break on Ranger Hill and gas in Clyde. Eden and I were hungry (what happens when you eat breakfast at 630 in the morning) so we grabbed Schlotzsky's on the way home. Then I fell asleep around 1, one of those naps where you wake up not sure what year it is. I got overheated so I haven't been feeling great this evening. I'll be able to bum around tomorrow since I don't have to go anywhere until school pick up at 330.
I keep thinking maybe the boys are old enough to walk home...lol
Eden is so great on these doctor trips. She's obedient and (mostly) polite to everyone. This time I took the stroller so I didn't have to worry about her keeping up and that was fantastic. Especially since it was cold and wet everywhere. She's having some issues now with tiredness and just being 4, but she'll be back to normal by tomorrow, I'm sure.
Overall, a great visit. She loved her time with Aunt Cari and loves staying in the hotel (even without swimming). Next doctor's appointment in Plano is in May. *sigh*
