Strabismus Success!

Yesterday was my Strabismus surgery!  This was the one surgery I was most looking forward to because I knew that having my eye straightened would probably make the most difference in the appearance of my face overall.  So far (less than 24 hours post-op), I think I was right!

Let me start off my saying that I love Dr. Stevens (pediatric eye surgeon).  When she came in to see me before hand, she drew a heart right above my eye. :)  As a teacher, I couldn't help but think that she'd make a great teacher too!  I strongly recommend her to anyone that has a child with the same condition because she is amazing!  When we were prepping for surgery, Kermie told the doctors that I was a little nauseous when I woke up last time, so they put me to sleep with meds through my IV that would prevent that from happening.  They also gave me a motion sickness patch to make sure I didn't get sick once I was home.  The only bad side effect of that was the blurred vision.  When you only have one good eye, blurred vision is not the best!  My anesthesiologist was pretty amazing too!  She was beautiful and had the longest eyelashes!  I remember her talking to me right before she started and I kept thinking how much I loved her pink lipstick!  At least I wasn't thinking of the spiders on the movie Arachnophobia Kermie and I were watching before I went back! :)

Surgery started right around 1:15 or so and lasted maybe two hours.  My recovery was the shortest I've ever experienced and I woke up feeling terrific (other than being starving!).  We fixed that right away with a Chick-fil-a veggie wrap!  By the time we got home I was still a little loopy, but I honestly felt pretty great.  Kermie even went back out to grab a McFlurry which is our latest obsession!  I was expecting my eye to look terrible at first, especially after some of the videos I had watched.  However, I can already tell that my eye is straight and looks awesome minus the blood. I feel confident going back to work on Monday and not scaring my kiddos.  I can't describe in words how I feel when I look in the mirror now.  I usually leave the bathroom with smile!  I'm not sure whether or not I will regain the movement to the right, but I'm assuming it's a little early to tell.  I'm trying not to over work it at this point.  I will go back to see Dr. Stevens for a post-op appointment in a couple of weeks and I'm sure she will be able to tell me a lot more then.

So, what's next?  I guess I will call Dr. Patel next week to schedule an appointment with him about my scar.  I'm sure he will have a plan to fix that and then I should be finished for a LONG time!!!  I'm just amazed at how far I've come in 5 months!  Praise the Lord for creating a human body that regenerates and heals fast and thank Him for the skills and passion He instilled in all of my doctors!  The two combined have worked miracles in my life!

Getting ready to go back for surgery!

It's straight, but a little swollen.  Just got in from a walk, so I'm looking a bit rough!

Looking to the left.  Same eye movement as before.

Looking to the right.  It's still not equal to the other eye, but time will tell.



Until next time, Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there!  This is definitely one of my best!  Ella informed me that she was contacting the manager of Starbucks to see if he will give me free coffee for life! :)  It's the thought that counts right! :)