Genevieve's Eyes at 13 Months

This past week Genevieve had her (approximately) 1-year eye checkup.


Although things are not terrible, her ophthalmologist suggested that we start Genevieve on a dilating eye drop, to allow her pupils to open up around the cataracts. The cataracts are centered in the middle of her lenses (both eyes), so anything we can do to let more light in around them and help her visual system develop normally is good. She started taking a phenylephrine eye drop twice per day today, to continue indefinitely. It is not great, but for now it is a much better option than surgery.

Her doctor said that a cataract of similar size and opacity in an adult would represent something like 20/60 or 20/80 vision. The way this works, in very general terms, is that her optic nerve and visual cortex will develop based on the amount, or quality, of visual stimulus she receives. So if her vision today is 20/60, then if we do nothing there is a good chance her visual system will "max out" at 20/60. If this were to happen, even if the cataracts are removed in the future she'll never see any better than 20/60. Thus the eye drops begin.

This is difficult for me, since her cataracts come from me. I had the same diagnosis as a baby, and I have spent my whole life adapting to low vision. I want her to avoid this outcome if at all possible, but of course we have to balance the risks and rewards of surgery. We trust her doctor, and the eyedrops seem like a good course of action for the time being, until he can assess whether the cataracts are continuing to get worse. We may yet seek a second opinion just to be more confident.

For the record, Genevieve is not a big fan of the eye drops. I expect that she will get used to them pretty quickly.

In happier news, I celebrated my 32nd birthday last weekend. We went camping to Pinewood Lake, just a few miles west of us. It was mostly relaxing, camping at the lakeside with friends and family, enjoying the scenery, taking some very nice canoe rides. The only downsides were that Genevieve did not sleep well (she was coming down with a cold), and very early on Sunday morning I woke up with an upset stomach. Brother Eric was kind enough to drive me down the hill to be sick in the comfort of my own bathroom. And fortunately by lunchtime I had almost completely recovered. But I missed the tail end of the camping trip.

We had a lot of fun with Ali and Eric during their visit. They drove out in their new Ford Expedition, which Alex fell in love with immediately. We ate out at one of our favorite local restaurants, only to find they were hosting a Karaoke night. Eric and Alex decided to try singing "Life is a Highway" together (as featured in the movie Cars).


Sorry this photo from my phone is not better, but the two blurry figures in the middle, one tall and one short, holding microphones, are Eric and Alex. The good news is that they did it and had fun. The bad news is that "Life is a Highway" has a LOT OF LYRICS! None of us expected that, since the song in the movie is mostly cut down to just the titular refrain. Poor Eric had to stumble his way through page after page of verses that none of us had ever heard.

In other, VERY good news, we moved Genevieve's crib from our bedroom to the back office, where we have cleared a corner of the clutter for her. Last night was her first night in her new room, and she slept like a ROCK! She only woke up once to request a fresh drink, and was back asleep in seconds. Meanwhile Dana and I got our first good night's sleep at home by ourselves in many, many months! This could be the start of a very restful period in our lives.

County Fair

Today we went to the Larimer County Fair



We saw cattle, horses, chickens, sheep, bunny rabbits, tractors, pigs, and an ice cream stand. What fun!! I think between the rabbits and the cake decorating, Alex is going to want to join 4H in a few years.

The soft fuzzy bunnies with the big eyes were our favorites.

Adenoidectomy

This morning Alex had his adenoids removed. We have been in consultation for several months with two ENTs and a dentist, and concluded that his adenoids obstructed his airway too much. So it was time to take care of it.


The surgery is a 30-minute outpatient procedure, done under general anesthesia. We arrived at the hospital at 7:15 this morning. Dana, Genevieve, Alex, and I were all able to sit together in the little pre-op room while the doctors and nurses bustled around and got everything ready. Alex had a dose of oral sedative before the surgery to help him relax and to make it easier to administer the general anesthesia. We waited about 30 minutes while that took effect. It was strange to see Alex in such an altered state, slurring his speech and acting "drunk". We talked about the surgery, and cars, and the present that Ryanne and Lucas put together for him for after the surgery, and lots of other stuff. We played on the hospital bed. Alex was very relaxed. But then again, Alex is usually very relaxed.


The anesthesiologist brought in a little green gas mask to show Alex how it worked, and to let him play with it for several minutes so he could get comfortable with it. We talked about how the air would blow through it and how he could hold it up to his face.

The nurse said that one of us (without Genevieve) could accompany Alex to the operating room until he went under. We asked Alex who he wanted to join him and after a few seconds of indecision he picked me. To be honest, I was kind of scared. They gave me a "bunny suit" to wear.


Then it was time to go in for surgery. I carried Alex in my arms, half limp from the sedative. He looked so small, helpless, and out of sorts, and I think when we got into the big, bright OR he started to get a little nervous. He didn't say anything. I laid him down on the operating table, and tucked his soft green blanket around him. Then I knelt down beside him and helped him hold his little green mask over his mouth while the anesthesiologist and I sang "Apples and Bananas" to him. He started to drift off, but he was still looking around apprehensively, as if to ask, "Daddy, what am I doing here? Who are all these strange people and machines?" I squeezed his hand and brushed his hair back, and then he was out. I kissed him on his cheek and left him. It was really tough.

After that we played with Genevieve in the waiting room. She had a blast. There were lots of good baby toys in the waiting room, and a big, colorful fish tank to look at.


When the surgery was done, Alex was moved to the recovery room and started to wake up. They had warned us that little kids usually have a hard time waking up from the drugs, so we were somewhat prepared. But Alex was pretty upset. Because of the breathing tube used during the surgery his throat was a little sore and his voice was really hoarse. And anyone who's had anesthesia knows that it can be disorienting and even a little disturbing. We sat and rocked him in our arms and helped him drink water and eat ice chips and popsicles. Unfortunately he has a small cut in his mouth from last week which made the popsicles sting a little. But after 45 minutes or so he was mostly calm. Ryanne came down to meet us. Her Jeep broke down early this morning so she had picked up a rental car for the day. This immediately piqued Alex's curiosity and was a wonderful distraction from his discomfort.


Finally it was time to go home. Dana had planned to spend the whole day with Alex at home, and I think that idea suited Alex just fine. We had new books, movies, and best of all, ICE CREAM waiting at home to speed his recovery.

But first we had to make a stop just outside of the hospital at Longmont's best donut shop


I learned a long time ago that donuts are among the most potent mood-altering substances known to little boys. By the time we got home, Alex was sounding and feeling better. He unwrapped his present from Ryanne and Lucas, and was delighted to find four of his very favorite movies, a new book, and a Cars plate, cup, and bowl set.


The prospect of having Mommy to himself all day at home was also very agreeable. By the time I got home from work this evening, Alex was pretty much back to his old cheery self. He's supposed to avoid vigorous play and Motrin all week. Hopefully with his adenoids now out of the way, he'll sleep better than ever!