So Far So Good!

Our appointment regarding Little B's Ptosis went well. You know it's a good sign when after the physician asks you to remind him why you're there and you explain "Her eyelid is droopy." and he replies "Well, hardly at all." Also, sitting in the waiting room for one and a half hours seeing all sorts of other children with various, often more serious eye conditions, is very humbling and has a tendency to put things in perspective. I kind of couldn't help feeling a bit silly for being there at all actually. The doctor did a variety of things during the examination both before and after the pupil dilating drops were given. (Which I swear made her cranky, I had to have those once and they made me feel almost ill, it's such a weird sensation.)

He seemed to think that things look fine for the moment. He brought up the possibility of surgery but it didn't sound as though it was anything he'd even want us to consider for some time. He thinks that it will improve as she ages and wants to see us in another 6 months. Whew! Glad to have that appointment behind us for now. It is a relief knowing that her eyesight is not being compromised in any way and that it isn't hindering her development.

By some cool coincidence one of my friends was also there for an appointment with her kids. The neat part about it was that we both have to travel about two hours to the office so the likelihood of us being there on the exact same day at the exact same time was strange. It was so nice to see a familiar face and talk to someone who "knew the ropes" so to speak. Peter and I were a little frazzled when we arrived because we weren't completely sure where we were going and accidentally cut it a little short for time. We ending up getting there exactly on time but it was nerve wracking just the same.

B was really well behaved in her incredibly busy kind of way. Having had this sort of toddler already we are always prepared to take turns following her around as she is constantly moving from one thing to the other, climbing, wandering, smiling and poking at random people. Understandably she did not enjoy getting the eye drops but she did very well all things considered.

Before heading home we treated ourselves by going here which is a restaurant we don't have in our city and one we highly enjoy. The best part is that though the food tastes gourmet it is delivered at the speed of fast food, therefore it is perfect when you have an impatient toddler tagging along and you don't have any time for dilly dallying. She enjoyed gnawing on garlic bread sticks and sampling my portabello mushroom ravioli. Mmmm! She also traveled well napping some on the way there and the way home, which is a welcome change to the crying for two hours straight she did last time we came home from the city.

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So next Wednesday we have our appointment (finally) for Baby B with the pediatric ophthalmologist. I am both excited and nervous. Excited to finally be seeing a specialist who will either reassure us that it is really nothing to be concerned about or that it is problematic and we can finally DO something about it. That's where the nervous part comes in. Doing something.

I'd like to be prepared for the appointment. I've read up on Ptosis, seen photos of different severities and treatments etc. We are seeing one of two doctors. Apparently one is quite nice and the other, while being an excellent doctor/surgeon is kind of an @ss. It honestly doesn't matter to me which one we see except that my experience dealing with 'difficult' physicians is that you really need to be on top of your game, so to speak. As in, know the questions you want to ask, get to the point, don't waste his time, etc. And the thing is because I have no idea what he is going to say about her eye, I find it very hard to be prepared.

I have given a lot of thought to the possibility of surgery. If it is recommended, how would I feel? What would I want to do? It is really difficult to say. I'd really have to weight the pros and cons. If the cons are really not all that great I may consider putting it on hold until later when she could actually make the decision herself. There are possible side effects to surgery that would be unpleasant and almost make it not worth doing.

Sometimes I look at her and think her eye looks perfect. That we'll be told that it's really not worth doing anything about. And other times, when I'm doing red eye reduction on a photo or when I'm holding her and see her reflection in a mirror, I realize I must simply be used to the way it looks now and only when I see it in a different way do I notice how droopy it really is. All I want is the best for her, and we'll do whatever we need to do to make sure that happens.