Eyeball update

I feel like it's going to be hard to put into words the experience we've had since the last time I updated about Emmett's eyes.  The words "ringer, going through it" come to mind.

We went back in May, and the doctor confirmed that he would need the surgery we'd scheduled in June.  Unsurprising.  She indicated that there was since a very small chance that his measurements would change between then and the surgery, we didn't need to come back to recheck the measurements.  I figured that any chance was a chance I didn't want to deal with - not for something that would take us only an hour to do.  So we made another appointment with the surgeon for the day prior to the surgery to double-check the measurements.  I had some dental work scheduled for that day so Mike took him.

Oy vey, people.  The surgeon confirmed his measurements... then suggested to Mike that we schedule the surgery.  Mike responded that we had, that it was queued up for the NEXT DAY, and the surgeon said "Oh.  Have we decided how much to correct for?"

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.  I GET that the amount his eye was crossed changed throughout the day and was different if he was in glasses or out of them.  But still.  She's the surgeon.  You do NOT want to hear that she's unsure of how to handle the situation.

Unlike what I would have done, Mike kept it together.  I would have given the surgeon an extra eyeroll, told her that I didn't go to med school, and to get her shiz together.  Mike gently prompted her through a discussion of the different thoughts on the topic and encouraged her to consult her fellow practice members. 

The next day we had the surgery done - the process was relatively easy.. Emmett was great.  And was totally fine afterwards, downing some gluten-free sausage pizza only hours after leaving the hospital (surgery was outpatient).

We were very hopeful, but the eyes looked awful.  They were really bloody looking, which we expected.  But one eye actually looked like it wandered out.  He looked so bad, and it certainly wasn't an improvement to have him walleyed!

For the first week, I teared up when I looked at him.  It was so hard, I was so freaked out and I was convinced he'd need to have another surgery.  Words cannot describe how AWFUL it looked.  Then, the week after that it started getting better day by day.  I still think it gets better every day, but that second week - LEAPS and BOUNDS are the only words for it.  Enough to pardon the surgeon from the unholy cursing Mike had planned for her at his two-week post checkup.  She actually was quite pleased with his progress.  She did say the outcome judgement day is really two months post - there can be quite a lot of change up until then, and until then we are patching his "good" eye for an hour a day to ensure his brain keeps processing images from his "bad" eye.

As of now though, Emmett's eyes are looking pretty good.  Check out the pic of my brother, E and I last week:

Still not perfect, will have a better idea at his two month checkup.  File this in the drawer labelled "Cautiously optimistic".