Adam update!!
It's been months since I've provided a specific update on how Adam and his eyes are faring. I've thought about mentioning something...but then I thought, what would I say?! Going through his diagnosis and surgeries last Spring were horrific, monumental, terrifying, craptacular experiences. But then, after it was all said and done, it was no big deal anymore. Adam took to his glasses like a fish in water (likely because he really can't see much without them; he needs to hold a book literally touching his nose to see the pictures very well when his glasses are off). He even wore his glasses like a fish in water. We used nothing more than his "Wedgies" during swim lessons and used my dad's glasses strap when he swam in the lake at the cabin, just in case. But his glasses never dislodged during any activities all summer. And Adam reliably kept them on. He broke them once, scratched one lens pretty badly once, the nose pad disintegrated once, the frames are constantly at least a little bent, so we've been to the glasses shop many, many times over the summer. But other than that - we'd all accepted our new, new, new way of life. And it's been fabulous. Adam's eyesight is miraculous and he is a completely normal, lively, smart, funny little 3 year old. He just happens to wear some pretty thick glasses right now.
This morning, Ryann, Adam, and I went to Adam's "3-month" (actually turned out to be more like 4 months when our appointment was bumped out a month) post-op appointment. It went PERFECTLY, just like this:
We dropped Max off at the bus stop and I easily entered the address of the brand new clinic to which we'd never been before into my GPS navigator (it actually took me several minutes to remember how to enter the address into the navigator). We left in plenty of time to arrive at our 7:45 a.m. appointment (actually, we got on the freeway and Ryann exclaimed, "Look at all the TRAFFIC! This is DUMB!" and Adam chastised her for using the word "dumb" and I said, "Actually, it is kind of dumb."). The GPS navigator lady got us right to where we were going and we easily found a parking spot (actually the GPS navigator lady did her best to get us where we were going but there was a ton of construction in the area and I could only get as close as about a block away from where I thought we were supposed to be; I chose to enter the first parking ramp close to the U of M Riverside campus I saw since we were late for our appointment already). We calmly walked into the correct building and blithely rode the elevator to Floor 3 (actually, we entered the Main Entrance to the hospital and had to ask a kind woman for directions to an information desk all the way across the hospital, at which time the information-desk-guy pointed us out of the hospital and across the street to a stand-alone building; we walk-jogged the entire way from the parking ramp and I was sweating profusely). We strolled across the street and rode the elevator up to Floor 3 and arrived cool as cucumbers, right on time (actually, we walk-jogged across the street as I fought back tears because I hate being late so much, we got on the elevator and when the doors opened, I was dizzy for a minute or so because the motion of elevators messes with my equilibrium and I feel like I'm moving up and down for a bit; I apologized for being late and tried to calm myself since the receptionist was not bothered in the least that we were 15 minutes late for our appointment). We proceeded to the exam room and waited calmly to be seen by Dr. B. (actually, we waited for a while and suddenly Ryann announced she had to go potty really badly at almost the exact same time my stomach gave a telltale lurch. All three of us trekked to the restroom and Adam proceeded to engage in some sort of three-year-old boy game where he threw his shoulder repeatedly against the tile wall of the bathroom. I swung back and forth between urging Ryann to poo faster and telling her it's ok, it's ok, take your time and asking Adam to please stop crashing around like that). Then, in all seriousness, we returned to the room and Adam was examined by Dr. B. I love Dr. B. because he's always as excited about your child's good progress as you are. He exclaimed that Adam's eyes are "perfect"!!! No signs of glaucoma, no cloudiness on the IOLs, his glasses prescription has not changed and he is seeing very well. Now, just as I thought, we'll never have to see another doctor again and life can go on like nothing ever happened (actually, though I really deluded myself into believing that since the summer was so easy, we were 100% in the clear, I verified with Dr. B. that Adam will need to be seen by him at the U of M clinic every six months for the next at least 3 years in order to monitor closely for signs of glaucoma, secondary cataracts on Adam's IOLs, and his changing prescription.) Adam's eyes will continue to develop as he ages and his prescription will become less and less strong until one day - he will a. not need glasses at all b. need cheaters to read up close c. need glasses or contacts to correct a very slight either far- or near-sightedness. This is all dependent on how accurately Dr. B. was able to estimate Adam's future prescription. And that's the God's truth! Isn't life amazing?
P.S. - On the way out of the clinic, we walked nicely right to our car (actually, Adam somehow managed to stick a My Little Pony sticker to the brand, spanking-new hospital floor so well that I was on my hands and knees trying to pick it all off until a nice hospital worker urged me to stop and said that the custodians would have no trouble getting the sticker off the floor using some sort of scraper; while I was picking the sticker - Adam ran in and out of the revolving hospital door before I could stop him; and we couldn't find the van in the parking ramp and had to repeatedly hit the red panic button and listen to the horn honking to find the van by sound).
P.P.S. - I've had a request for more pictures of Zoe on the blog so stay tuned.....
P.P.P.S. - Let me know if you have other requests for pictures or stories. I'm a people-pleaser like that ;)
This morning, Ryann, Adam, and I went to Adam's "3-month" (actually turned out to be more like 4 months when our appointment was bumped out a month) post-op appointment. It went PERFECTLY, just like this:
We dropped Max off at the bus stop and I easily entered the address of the brand new clinic to which we'd never been before into my GPS navigator (it actually took me several minutes to remember how to enter the address into the navigator). We left in plenty of time to arrive at our 7:45 a.m. appointment (actually, we got on the freeway and Ryann exclaimed, "Look at all the TRAFFIC! This is DUMB!" and Adam chastised her for using the word "dumb" and I said, "Actually, it is kind of dumb."). The GPS navigator lady got us right to where we were going and we easily found a parking spot (actually the GPS navigator lady did her best to get us where we were going but there was a ton of construction in the area and I could only get as close as about a block away from where I thought we were supposed to be; I chose to enter the first parking ramp close to the U of M Riverside campus I saw since we were late for our appointment already). We calmly walked into the correct building and blithely rode the elevator to Floor 3 (actually, we entered the Main Entrance to the hospital and had to ask a kind woman for directions to an information desk all the way across the hospital, at which time the information-desk-guy pointed us out of the hospital and across the street to a stand-alone building; we walk-jogged the entire way from the parking ramp and I was sweating profusely). We strolled across the street and rode the elevator up to Floor 3 and arrived cool as cucumbers, right on time (actually, we walk-jogged across the street as I fought back tears because I hate being late so much, we got on the elevator and when the doors opened, I was dizzy for a minute or so because the motion of elevators messes with my equilibrium and I feel like I'm moving up and down for a bit; I apologized for being late and tried to calm myself since the receptionist was not bothered in the least that we were 15 minutes late for our appointment). We proceeded to the exam room and waited calmly to be seen by Dr. B. (actually, we waited for a while and suddenly Ryann announced she had to go potty really badly at almost the exact same time my stomach gave a telltale lurch. All three of us trekked to the restroom and Adam proceeded to engage in some sort of three-year-old boy game where he threw his shoulder repeatedly against the tile wall of the bathroom. I swung back and forth between urging Ryann to poo faster and telling her it's ok, it's ok, take your time and asking Adam to please stop crashing around like that). Then, in all seriousness, we returned to the room and Adam was examined by Dr. B. I love Dr. B. because he's always as excited about your child's good progress as you are. He exclaimed that Adam's eyes are "perfect"!!! No signs of glaucoma, no cloudiness on the IOLs, his glasses prescription has not changed and he is seeing very well. Now, just as I thought, we'll never have to see another doctor again and life can go on like nothing ever happened (actually, though I really deluded myself into believing that since the summer was so easy, we were 100% in the clear, I verified with Dr. B. that Adam will need to be seen by him at the U of M clinic every six months for the next at least 3 years in order to monitor closely for signs of glaucoma, secondary cataracts on Adam's IOLs, and his changing prescription.) Adam's eyes will continue to develop as he ages and his prescription will become less and less strong until one day - he will a. not need glasses at all b. need cheaters to read up close c. need glasses or contacts to correct a very slight either far- or near-sightedness. This is all dependent on how accurately Dr. B. was able to estimate Adam's future prescription. And that's the God's truth! Isn't life amazing?
P.P.S. - I've had a request for more pictures of Zoe on the blog so stay tuned.....
P.P.P.S. - Let me know if you have other requests for pictures or stories. I'm a people-pleaser like that ;)
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