Linnea's Eyes Update - Sept. 22, 2009

One month after Linnea's eye surgery (trabeculotomy) we took her in Monday morning to have her eye pressures checked under anesthesia. Our babysitter stayed the night so that she could get Caleb and Elise off to school while we ventured over to the surgery center from 6:00 - 9:oo a.m. Once again our little trooper Linnea did amazingly well. She wimpered when we had to hand her over to the nurse but never cried through the entire process. The nurses all thought she was so cute and were vying for the chance to hold her. She didn't have to get an IV because she only needed to be unconscious for about 10 minutes. She was put to sleep with gas anesthesia only and, therefore, woke up relatively calmly. Linnea's right eye (surgery) pressure came in at 24 and her left eye at 20. The Dr. deemed the surgery 80% effective. Normal eye pressures are 20 and below. We will have to continue using the Xalatan eye drops in both eyes now and she will have her next under anesthesia exam in 8 weeks. We are grateful for the 80% effectiveness through the surgery and for the drops that seem to be working.

Going Out on a Limb for Crystal the Bird

There's quite a bunch of kids that play together on our street. One summer night not too long ago they found a baby sparrow down at the base of a big pine tree in the Mayers front yard. They named the bird Crystal and put her into a shoebox. All the little girls were enamored with little bird Crystal. I assumed Crystal had probably fell from a nest in the pine tree so I climbed way up to the top. Sure enough on one of the highest branchers I saw a nest. Kevin & Rich rigged up a bucket and rope and I pulled Crystal up to my precarious perch. Rich wondered if he had enough liablility insurance as I manuevered out toward the end of a top branch. I put Crystal in my gloved hand, reached to the limit of my reach and . . . and . . . wa-lah! Crystal went back home. I know my kids already think Kirsten and I are the greatest but these hero moments sure feel good.

New K Kid in the House

Eight days ago Elise walked through the gates of Glen Taylor Elementary school into her first day of kindergarten. She said her first day was boring because "the teacher talked too much." The subsequent days were better as she learned to write the letter L and then O and made a hopscotch friend on the playground. I picked her up at 11:40 a.m. - so fun! She saw me from far away at the gate and exclaimed, "I see my daddy!" while waving with the biggest smile on her face. We went to the classiest of places for lunch afterward - McDonalds. There's nothing better than picking up a kindergartner who thinks the world of you. Lise, I think the world of you too!

Update on Linnea

It has been just over two weeks since Linnea had her eye surgery (trabeculotomy). She is doing well. We took her to an appointment a week ago Monday and the Dr. was encouraged that she had no sign of infection. He informed us that the swelling and redness will probably take about a month to dissipate. She doesn't open her right eye much past halfway yet but the redness has definitely improved. She has to go under general anesthesia again on Sept. 21 to get a new eye pressure reading. The nightly eye drops (Xalatan) are working. Her initial eye pressures were 40 - right eye, 25 - left eye. Normal is 14 - 19. After a month of using the drops her eye pressures had come down to 35 - right eye, 17 left eye (normal - yay!). Our prayer is that the surgery will be completely effective in getting her right eye to regulate its pressure and that her left eye will eventually return to normal without need for long term use of eye drops.