Addy is doing very well. Her eyes looked a bit more nasty than I expected after surgery, but still not anywhere near as nasty as mine looked after retinal detachment surgery, so it could be worse. The redness continues to look better each day.
As far as positioning of the eyes, we noticed right away that they are very different from what they were. Addy was pretty much incapable of "crossing her eyes" (turning them both inward), and now at least one of them is turned inward most of the time. This is normal, since they loosened the two outward muscles, and it may take a little while before they strengthen again and figure out where they're supposed to go. They also worked on one more muscle in the under part of her right eye, the tightness of which was making that eye appear more elevated than the other. So now that eye is floating around a little more up and down than it used to. But again, that is to be expected.
The goal and the hope is that her brain will eventually figure out how to make her eyes work together instead of separately, allowing her to have depth perception and 3-D vision. At this point, she is still mostly using one eye at a time (you can usually tell because one eye will be looking at you, and the other will be turned inward -- used to be outward), but I am pretty sure I've seen a few times where she gets them to both look straight. That's actually a little better than I was expecting, so I'm hopeful!
The doctor saw her the day after surgery, and she said she is "much improved" and is happy with the way things are looking. We have an appointment in about a month, so by that time we may be able to tell a little better how Addy's brain is adjusting to the new position of her eyes. It could take several more months after that to be able to determine the likelihood of further surgery, however.
We would appreciate prayer for her as she recovers and adjusts: 1) That her eyes would heal quickly and avoid infection, and 2) that her eyes and brain would learn to work together in the way they need to in order to avoid further surgery.
We are so blessed by how smoothly everything went with the surgery, though! Addy was mostly back to normal by the night of the surgery, and since the next day, she's been acting as if nothing ever happened! We appreciate all you who have been praying for us. The Lord has certainly been gracious to us in this whole process!
3 comments:
It sounds like a successful procedure and that Addy is in excellent care. She has our prayers for healing and eye function restoration. May God work within her brain to help make those needed connections. Blessings to you all as she makes her daily progress.
Thanks for the update! Definitely praying for your little girl.
~Anne E.
Still praying for Addy! Rachel Anne reminds us every day--"Mommy, can I pway fo' baby Addy's eyes dat da doctor is fixin' them? Dat her eyes will work?" :-) So glad to hear how well everything went!
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