Post-Surgery...Kathlena is doing great!

I must admit that so much of this day was deja vu for us.  Waiting in the same lobby chairs, signing paperwork with the same receptionist and we even had the same nurse recovery nurse, Theresa that we had with Andrew.  All of the people we worked with were wonderful both times.  Kathlena's surgery was delayed a while due to some complications with the first patient who was a tiny 9 month old.  Thankfully, this baby after getting the  additional attention needed was doing fine.  During our wait Kathlena had daddy read her some books.  Daddy has a great voice for reading stories and while he was reading "Mailing May" one of Kathlena and Mommy's favorite stories I think he entertained someone else who was waiting too. 

After our 2+ wait in the lobby we headed to OR prep thinking that it would still be an hour or so until Kathlena would be heading to surgery--wrong!  We flew through OR prep time compared to when Andrew had his surgery.  We did manage to grab a few quick pictures of Kathlena getting her smiley face to mark which eye was having surgery and practicing her deep breathing with her mask before heading to anesthesia.

 As we passed through each of the same rooms memories flooded back from Andrew's surgery last year.  It seems so long ago that we were going through Andrew's surgery.  In many ways it was.  Andrew and Kathlena have changed greatly in the past year.  Going through this surgery with Kathlena made me realize how different we all were a year ago.  Of course it helped to have gone through this before, but even Kathlena's level of trust and comfort with us is so much more now than a year ago.  I remember Andrew being so concerned about leaving us and all the care that the nurses took to make sure we were there up until the very last minute and that we were the first thing he saw out of surgery.  Kathlena was swept away waving with her bunny and favorite pink blanket in tow.  She had no worries that we would be on the other side of this surgery.  This was a huge moment of courage for her and we were so proud of her.

Kathlena's surgery went by quickly only a little over a half hour and we were being called back to meet with Dr. Mazow.  He was very pleased with her surgery.  Her eye was quite swollen, even more than Andrew's, but he wasn't overly concerned as it was well in the normal range.  The swelling would subside in a day or so.  After talking to Dr. Mazow we were sent to the recovery waiting room where we waited for Kathlena to begin to wake up and to receive post op instructions.  We met a sweet nurse, Jan whose daughters took Russian in high school as their foreign language.  We were blessed again to share about the blessing of our adoption journey of faith with those who were caring for Kathlena.  We were soon called back to see Kathlena who was snooooozing!! She was so out!  (She doesn't even remember recovery)  The nurses let Daddy hold her and we tried to wake her up, but she was really zonked.  Daddy would sit her up and have to hold her head up like a small newborn.  I thought  she was coming around so I tried to give her some  apple juice.  She sucked in, but didn't swallow so it just dribbled out.  Bless her heart she was really out!

     Daddy holding Kathlena.  Sweet nurse Theresa had pity on us and our long ride home so she told us if we were okay with leaving with her asleep we could go.  Daddy scooped Kathlena up, carried her out saying you don't have to ask me twice we are good to go!

Kathlena slept the whole way home.  We had to stop at Randall's for some Tylenol and while I waited in the car with Kathlena she suddenly woke up.  She was like an amnesia patient.  Suddenly awake and no idea where she was or how she got there.  We were so thankful though that she rested comfortably for the ride home.  Once home she was greeted first by Andrew who wanted to entertain and take care of her.  It was so sweet.  He could empathize with her and went back and forth to get her anything she wanted or needed. 

We all gathered around to remove Kathlena's bandages and see her beautiful eyes again.  Even Calvin was waiting anxiously to see.  ;)

Wow!  Our beautiful Kathlena.  We are so thankful for the skillful work of Dr. Mazow and his team.  It is truly amazing the difference this simple surgery makes to restore and preserve vision.  We are so thankful to the Lord for His provision and comfort to us throughout this day.  We were blessed by the many friends and family who checked on us and prayed for us as we approached this day.  Thank you!

Preparing for Surgery...Kathlena

We have all of Kathlena's pre-op paperwork and visits completed as of today.  We were cleared by her pediatrician last week and deemed healthy for surgery.  She is now set for strabismus surgery next Wednesday, Sept. 8th.  We are excited even though it seems to have come about rather suddenly.  We have always known that it would be likely that she would need surgery.  In the past three months though it has become evident that sooner rather than later is necessary.  We have been in glasses all summer and while they have been helpful, especially in slowing down her nystagmus, her eye continues to turn out so, surgical straightening is what is required to keep her vision as strong as possible in both eyes.  We are thankful for our ophthalmologist, Dr. Mazow who also did Andrew's surgery a little over a year ago.  As Kathlena would say, "we know the drill" so, that has made it a little easier.  Kathlena at the beginning of our talks about surgery was not so thrilled...in her words "no, thank you surgery" to be exact.  Points for politeness were given though!  She is better now and is actually looking forward to it.  I think it has helped knowing that Andrew has had the surgery and recently one of her friends at church also. 

I have been reading and thinking back to when Andrew had his surgery and have been surprised to find so many similarities.  Andrew was also missing a front tooth at the time of his surgery.  He look so little back then and that was only a little over a year ago.  He is growing up so fast!  His surgery has been such a blessing and we are so grateful to have the technology to help restore his vision.  Such a different world this past year has been for him.  We pray that we see such a change with Kathlena from her surgery as well. 

Kathlena's surgery will be the same type of as Andrew's surgery just on different muscles.  We had been expecting to eventually have nystagmus surgery which is more extensive surgery than strabismus.  It would seem for now that her nystagmus has dampened on it's own and that type of surgery will not be necessary.   We are so thankful for this!

For Mom and Dad pending surgery on one of our babies is never easy.  We pray for the Lord to minister to us and Kathlena as we trust Him through this time.  I am thankful for the many friends and family who are praying for us and who have been so kind to check on us...Thank you!!

"As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect." Psalm 18:30-32

Vision Update: Andrew & Kathlena

Andrew has been working hard at wearing his patch all waking hours since last July.  He has been a real trooper.  So, much so that he has made it seem so attractive to Kathlena who has wanted to wear a patch just like her big brother Andrew.  Well, she is getting her chance and she couldn't be more proud!  Kathlena's left eye is starting to drift and she has now been diagnosed with strabismus also.  We have suspected this for some time now but, hoped it was only an optical illusion.  It would seem her eye is drifting out and up the exact mirror image that her brother Andrew's eye did.  We had her checked for strabismus about 10 months ago and none was detected so it has come on quickly.  Now, we do not know if surgery will be necessary.  At this point we are patching minimally to see what happens.  Kathlena also has nystagmus in both eyes and when one eye is covered it accelerates the nystagmus (bouncing of the eye uncontrolably) to which she has little muscle control over her eyes.  The idea is that the patch may help strengthen it. 

We were very excited though to get an acuity on her.  She tested 20/400 in her left eye and 20/100 in her right so we are dealing also with some amblyopia with her too.  No glasses at this point will help.  Part of why her vision score is so low is because of the lack of muscle control from the nystagmus.  When she uses both eyes together her vision is 20/60.

Kathlena is usually an energetic 4 yr old and the patch seems to accentuate that!  In the few days she has worn it though her eye does seem to slow down after wearing it for a while and she manages great.  She has not had any trouble running into things or otherwise slowed her down. 

As for Andrew...drum role please....he is holding at 20/30 in his left eye so we are now only going to be patching 5 hours a day.  Whew! that is nothing compared to what he has been doing and he is so excited.  Yeah for Andrew!! He has done such a great job with no complaining.  It has been hard work but, it has paid off.  So, now we begin cutting back time to see if we can still hold the vision.  We go back in March for follow up on both of them.  For Andrew we will also have an ERG test done next time as we have noticed some possible night vision issues.  We are so thankful for Doc Mazow and his staff who takes such good care of us.

Below is Calvin who wanted to be like his big sis and bro...so he tried out the patch too.  One of Dr. Mazow's assistance wanted to check out Calvin too.  They were so sweet and helpful.  Calvin is doing great and so far his vision seems to be developing normally.

Andrew Post Surgery Update

Andrew is doing so well recovering from his surgery. We visited Dr. Mazow today and he was very impressed with Andrew's progress. He said he was healing up very well and that he could resume all activities except for swimming for 1 more week. He also gave us the go ahead to stop the antibiotic eye drops and only do the anti-inflamatory drops 2 times a day until Saturday. Yipeee!

I am still in awe when I look into Andrew's eyes to see both eyes looking at me. For all the struggle it has been to get to this point I am so thankful for this surgery. I really believe it has changed his life. He is still seeing double at this point, but this could be a good thing as his brain is trying to recalubrate and see with both eyes. We are hoping this is what is taking place. We go back to Dr. Mazow in 3wks to check his improvement. The above pictures testify to Andrew's excitment over getting to go outside again and be a boy! You can also see those beautiful eyes and how happy and proud he is of his surgery. Thank you sweet friends for walking through and praying through this time with us.