Eye Surgery

Widdle had Strabismus surgery yesterday. (I finally learned the word!) We have noticed his eyes alternating drifting out for a while. I have taken him to several doctor's appointments, we patched his eyes for a couple of months and the drifting and heavy blinking picked up greatly over the last several weeks. With the move coming up and Widdle getting older, we felt we should go ahead with the surgery. Albert's mom came in to watch the littles and Albert and I took Widdle to the surgery. I don't know what we would have done without Granny being her. She is such a huge blessing. When we first got to the surgery center everyone was pretty relaxed. Widdle was excited to see Dr. T. He always gets to play a lot of games with him. He had no idea what was really coming. We talked to him about the surgery a little, but he is too young to understand "they are going to cut the muscle off of your eye and move it back a little. This will help your eyes." While we did tell him that, he just couldn't be expected to really get it, so he was happy to be there. There was another little boy in the waiting room waiting for his brother. This gave Widdle a little playmate while we waited. When his name was called, Widdle chased the nurse back to the pre-op room. He was a great sport through all of the pre-op procedures. The nurse told him that his temperature and heart rate were perfect. He enjoyed wearing the silly gown and the grippy socks. He sat in Albert's lap for all of the little tests and my stomach twisted. I just didn't really know what was coming. Dr. T came in and gave us an idea of what to expect and how to care for him after the surgery. The anesthesiologist came in and briefly told us what would happen. Then a sweet nurse let Widdle ride in a wagon and off he went.

I said "I love you" about ten times and teared up. I am still thankful that I did not break down into tears as they pulled him away...... that came later. The whole time we were sitting in pre-op I questioned if it was too late to cancel the surgery. Was this really what he needed? Along with every other question imaginable flooded my mind. As soon as they took him back we went out to the waiting room. Albert went to get breakfast and I read a bit. I felt OK. Once Albert got back I checked the time and started getting anxious. About 15 or 20 min. later the nurse called us into the consultation room and we waited for the doctor. Dr. T came in and said Widdle did great. He hoped right up on the table and played all of their games, got a little nervous as he drifted off to sleep, but it went well. Everything looked as he expected and our little guy should be waking up soon. Now, he might be angry and if he is they will call you back quickly.

They called us back quick. I was certain that our little guy would be laid back and groggy. Boy was I wrong! This was the beginning of the worst part for me. I did not have a clear picture of what "angry" looked like on my little boy until I saw the nurse restraining his arms and him screaming his desire to rub his eyes. Even we could not settle him. Albert held him and held one arm down while I held the other arm and tried to sooth him. I felt terribly helpless. Widdle screamed and cried and begged me to let him rub his eyes. He didn't want anything to touch him and he really only wanted his daddy. He held his eyes shut tight. I cried, he cried, we were a mess. After two doses of morphine Widdle calmed down a bit. Just enough that the nurse felt that getting him home was our best option. She took the IV out....... that was bad, then took us over to another area. I offered Widdle some apple juice and crackers. He held one cracker for a couple of hours and ate another cracker. Once he calmed down enough to drink the apple juice, he sucked it down. By now it was about 11:00 a.m. He had not had anything to drink or eat since 8:00 p.m. the night before. After 5 or 10 minutes we left. Albert rode in the back to keep Widdle from rubbing his eyes. He only tried to open his eyes a couple of times. This seemed to only frustrate him more. He rested to rest of the day and had a couple of fits of discomfort. Albert went to T@rget to pick up a couple of things. We gave Widdle acetaminophen and ibuprofen all afternoon and evening. It seemed we were able to keep the pain and discomfort under control. Widdle slept on the couch and Albert slept on the floor beside the couch.

This morning we had a different child in our home. He woke up happy and was able to see a lot better. He was not so sensitive to the light. He ate breakfast and wanted to play. My heart took a deep breath and we enjoyed the morning. We all went to the post-op appointment and Dr. T said our little man looked great. He has a slight over correction, but hopefully this will even out over the next 4 weeks. We have another appointment then and hopefully we will only need re-checks every 6 months or so after that.

I am so thankful that my God knows how things will go long before they happen. He knew long before Widdle was born that he would undergo this surgery. He also knew long, long ago, way before I was a mother, that I would question every decision I made for my children. He gave me the greatest gift of my Savior, Jesus Christ and the peace and comfort that can only comes from Him. God has also blessed me with an amazing husband who has learned how to take the reins when I need help the most. What an amazing God we serve.