Oia's Eye Surgery

Friday was Oia's first eye surgery and our first experience with surgery period. The first, and hopefully the last, but only time will tell. Oia had the 2 horizontal muscles of her right eye cut and reattached in hopes of realigning the eye to make it straight, or in align with the left eye.

After checking in early Friday morning, we changed Oia into her gown and signed some last minute pre-op paperwork and talked briefly to Oia's doctor. We waited only a short while before they called us back for surgery. Only one of us was allowed to take Oia into the operating room so Rob was kind enough to let me have the honors. She was happy all morning but on the way back to the OR I think she sensed something was up. I gently placed her onto the table. Immediately the gas mask was in place and she fought her best fight for about 10 seconds until the anesthesia won. I kissed her cheek, walked out, and held my breath until they called us into recovery 1 hour later.





The nurse opened the recovery room doors and we heard her before we saw her....always a little tug on my mommy heart. The nurse holding Oia had a look of relief on her face when she saw me dashing their way. It took me a few moments to get Oia calmed down as she was obviously uncomfortable. The combination of anesthesia, some discomfort and sheer confusion is an ugly combination for a two year old. We remained in recovery for an hour and she was still 'out of it' for the most part. I'm a bit of a worrier and I questioned the bloody tears and bloody mouth but was assured by all that that was normal.

The ride home was smooth, meaning Oia slept for most of the 2 hour ride. She woke for the last 10 minutes and that is when I saw her right eye opened for the first time after surgery. It appeared to be straight (but still a little early to tell) and she was able to use her right peripheral to look out the window. It was neat to see.


This photo was taken the follow day. Still puffy and red but the good news is that she doesn't show any signs of irritation or discomfort and does not reach to rub it which is amazing. We have kept her comfortable with Tylenol.

We return for a post-op appointment this Tuesday, weather permitting. We are currently without power (today is Sunday) and have been since surgery day. Our area is hidden among a heavy 2 feet of snow and more snow is forecasted for Tuesday.

Stay tuned for the post-op update......

And thank you everyone for keeping her in your thoughts and prayers...we are blessed beyond measure.