One Hurdle Down

(Please excuse any typos or grammatical mistakes on this post as I write from my phone and operate on limited sleep)

The first major hurdle is now behind us as we start the long journey that is Hazel's battle to save her vision.  Today was a good day, maybe even a great day. I suppose it makes sense to give a recap of the day chronologically...but I wanted the lead to be that the surgery was a success. 

We arrived at Cooks Children's Hospital around 5:30 am for check-in and all the fun pre-op procedures. We met her check-in nurse, anesthesiologist, chatted with Dr Bowman, a glaucoma specialist and Linda who is a nurse from Dr Bowman's office. And of course that was followed by questionnaires, changing Hazel into her white tee and socks, being weighed, measured and loaded on to a regular-size rolling bed at 7:15 am.  During our visit with Dr Bowman he was able to tell us more about the donated cornea for the surgery.  The donated cornea is 14 years old and had a cell count around 3,200 whereas 2,500 is closer to average.  The more cells the better. 

After the anesthetics took effect the evaluation of Hazel's eyes began. The doctors started by evaluating which eye appeared to be weaker, testing eye pressure and looking for signs of glaucoma.  Several family members and friends came to sit and talk with Aubree and I in the waiting room. It wasn't as tense as you would imagine...at this point we know the situation and feel prepared for any outcome. We know it's out of our control for the next few hours.  At 8:15 am we had a visit from Nurse Linda who delivers our first bit of good news. They did not find any sign of glaucoma and had chosen Hazel's right eye for surgery. The surgery was about to begin and would take about an hour. 

By 9:15 am Dr Bowman had come out and brought Aubree and I into a private room to discuss details.  The surgery went about as well as possible. After removing her cloudy cornea they were able to determine that Hazel does NOT have Peter's Anomaly.  Hazel actually has a less difficult ailment known as sclerocornea.  In any case, this accurate diagnosis is definitely a good thing and rules out the possibility of the larger-scale syndroms associated with Peter's Anomaly. Her treatment plan is still the same and a cornea transplant will happen on the other eye in December. Overall the surgery went as planned. The new cornea is in place with 16 sutures that are holding it in place. They also did NOT have to remove the lens from her eye, which is a HUGE positive. During the operation they also placed a time-release steroid in her eye which will aid in the transition and slowly release steroids into her eye over the next 7 to 8 months. As you would expect she also received antibiotics during the surgery in and around her eye.  The only negative from the surgery are the blood vessels in the corneas which increase the risk of rejection. 

In the hours following the surgery Hazel has been very sleepy and dazed because of the anesthesia.  Protocol is different for a 3 week old than most children on our floor. The only thing Hazel needs to do is sleep and eat if she can stay awake. She is pretty agitated when she is up unless she is warm and has her favorite pacifier.  It's kind of hard to imagine that we will repeat this process in a little over a month.

We are staying overnight at the hospital for observation and have a follow up appointment in the morning with Dr Bowman.  Other than that, only time will tell how well the transition will go for Hazel's new cornea.  

It was difficult wondering into the unknown today...but ultimately we are just grateful that God gave us a positive outcome. We will continue to give her all the care in the world and appreciate all the prayers and support.