Friday, June 12, 2009

June 12

Yesterday we went to a new opthamologist for you. I liked her a lot--while she wasn't particularly warm, she was very intelligent and didn't dumb things down for me. We went to her because I was concerned for the way your right eye turns in and Dr. Urso told us she was the best. Already the pupil had issues in the past dilating, so in an early surgery it was made so that the pupil would stay dilated always. I haven't been certain of your vision in that eye for awhile, and knew my hopes were resting on the left one. Our new doctor confirmed what I already knew deep down about the right--it has lost all of it's vision. Maybe you see light and dark, just shadows, but that would be all. It was disappointing to hear, even though it wasn't surprising. The worst part is that she suspects your vision was fine to begin with, but that it was lost due to a surgery you had at less than 2 months old. When your cataracts were removed, scar tissue formed and it was two weeks later when you went back in to have it removed. Those two weeks are what she believes did it. I understand every surgery can't go perfectly, and that overall we have been extremely fortunate. Still, I hate that it wasn't taken care of sooner.

The good news is that you totally fine with one good eye, and your other eye is perfectly healthy. When I asked long term how it would hold you back, she said the only type of thing people with one eye can't do is play softball. This also means the surgery I was expecting to correct that muscle is futile. Since you can't see with it, that eye will continue to wander no matter how many surgeries you have. She did suggest that we never risk a lens implant with your good eye, and just continue to use contacts or glasses your entire life. And it makes sense. We have to protect the vision in this left eye at all costs, and it isn't worth chancing more surgeries than are absolutely necessary.

We are ordering new contacts for you...she says your current ones let you focus on long distance in your left eye, and close up with your right. Your entire world is within a couple feet, so now that we know your right eye isn't functional, we need to switch that around. And then I bet you are an even happier baby!

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