Olivia goes for the camera

just to clarify

I'm not sure why my blog is entitled "The Zimbit Daily" as I will not be posting anywhere near daily! Who'd want to read "changed a diaper...made a snack...did laundry..." daily, anyway? Not me! :)

The joy of eye surgery

We first noticed that Madeleine's right eye turned in when she was focusing on small details in things close to her face (pictures in books) in January 2005. Throughout the year she had 6 appointments - first, the optometrist, then twice to an opthamologist, then to an orthoptist, and twice to a pediatric opthamologist. They all said the same thing - glasses wouldn't help her condition (amblyopia or strabismus...aka lazy eye), nor would patching, and eye muscle surgery was recommended. We noticed that throughout the year the eye turned in more often, and at greater distances. In November 2005 surgery was scheduled for January 19, 2006. If left untreated, we were warned that she could lose the vision in that eye; and despite hearing the statistics of what could go wrong during surgery, we decided that surgery was the best option for Madeleine.

January 19, 2006 - Madeleine’s eye surgery day (age 3 years, 3 months)

We had to be at the hospital (Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Center) at 6:45 AM for admitting for 8:00 AM surgery. We woke Madeleine up at about 5:50. She wasn’t too impressed but we soon had her laughing. When it was time to go she started to cry but she said she didn’t know why she was crying.

We arrived at the hospital at 6:40. Admitting was a busy place that morning and we had to wait half an hour during which Madeleine played with the dolls she brought and rode around in a child’s size wheelchair – and then pushed daddy around in it! Madeleine was happy to get her name band bracelet.

Off to pre-op we went. First they measured her (95 cm) and weighed her (31 pounds). Next she played while we signed her in. After that it was time for her blood pressure (which she did not like), checking the oxygen in her blood and taking her temperature. We changed her into a yellow hospital gown. Then…more play. There was a boy there who was also scheduled for surgery – his name was Michael. They played together with a train set.

A child life specialist (someone who helps children deal with the trauma of surgery) named Crystal was wonderful. She got a name band for Kimberly (Madeleine’s doll that she had brought along as a security item). They called Madeleine’s name and we took her to the stretcher (crib on wheels) where she began to get upset. Crystal attempted to distract her by blowing bubbles and the nurse tried to talk to her as well, but Madeleine began to cry and say “Mommy”. I had to tear her out of my arms. I tried so hard to keep it together but just cried when they wheeled her away. She became more frantic and started to scream “Mommy! MOMMY!” at the top of her voice. I will never forget that sound.

Off to the waiting room we went. Crystal reassured us that the time between Madeleine leaving us and being under the anesthesia was about 3 – 5 minutes; so her agony wouldn’t be prolonged. She also said that LHSC is working on a program to be implemented within 6 months that would have parents in the operating room in order to reduce the stress the kids feel. I think they should at the very least have the parents there until the child is under the influence of the anesthesia. After waiting the prescribed 15 minutes (the timeframe in which they would get us if anything went wrong with the anesthesia) we went and had breakfast, since Madeleine had not been able to eat or drink anything past midnight the day before, and as a show of solidarity we hadn’t either. By now is was 8:00 and we were hungry! Off to the cafeteria we went, then back to the waiting room for more waiting. At about, a young lady volunteer called out “Is anyone here with Madeleine?” so off we went with her. We were confused as she led us to an adult wing of the post-op section. We advised her that Madeleine was only 3, so off we went to the pediatric wing. The volunteer told us it was her first day at the hospital. We found Crystal and some nurses in the pediatric wing, who assured the volunteer that she was lost, but would show her where to go. We went to post-op, and the nurse advised that Madeleine was still in surgery. It was 9:25 AM at this point, and the surgery had begun at 8:00 and was supposed to last for 9:30. At this point Crystal asked if she had been looking for Madeleine Krahn, and the volunteer said, no, the Madeleine she was referring to had a different last name. So back to the waiting room we went!

The surgeon (Dr. Robert Orton) came out and told us that Madeleine had done really well. Because the surgery was to the muscle, and it takes about 6 - 8 weeks for the muscle to begin to function as it (hopefully) should, that's when they will know how well it really went. He warned us that her eye would be red and swollen.

When we were finally called we returned to post-op, where Madeleine was sitting on a nurses’ lap and not at all happy. The nurse was asking Madeleine what her favourite juice was and Madeleine replied “Red juice.” Her voice was quite raspy. It was so good to hold her again! I held her for a very long time. Dr. Orton’s description of Madeleine’s eye did nothing to prepare us for what we actually saw. The white of her eye was completely red with blood and looked lumpy. Madeleine hated the blood pressure monitor (cuff) and also didn’t care for the blood oxygen monitor either (it was a little clip they attached to her toe). She noticed the intravenous that they had inserted after she was sleeping, and immediately wanted it out. Of course, it couldn’t come out then, as she had fasted for almost 12 hours and this point and they didn’t want her to become dehydrated.

We were moved to the recovery room where she was required to drink a glass of fluid (apple juice) but she did not want to. She wasn’t enticed by an orange popsicle, either. She just wanted to be held and cuddled. She had her eyes open for the most part, and it was difficult to look at. We were able to convince her to drink her juice and take some Tylenol by telling her that if she did those two things we would a) remove the IV and b) go see Olivia at grandma and grandpa’s house. Olivia had spent the night at Michael’s parents place and Susan had taken the day off of work in order to help George (who had the week off) to care for her. The incentives worked, and she quickly downed the juice and Tylenol.

She slept for most of the ride to George & Susan’s (about a 40 minute drive). I told Madeleine that we were going to grandma and grandpa’s house where they would take care of us and feed us lunch and supper. She said “Not you, you can eat by yourself.” It was nice to know that her sense of humour was still intact!

She did not have an appetite that day. All she ate was one pudding cup and some popcorn. She drank strawberry milk and ginger ale as well.

That afternoon she either dozed on mommy or grandma’s lap with a cold compress on her eye, and also had a nap with grandma in her bed. Daddy took her to the computer and distracted her with Dora games. She also watched “Charlotte’s Web”. Overall she was sedate, but generally compliant. At times she would perk up and tease her grandma by singing the song “Hands in my Pocket” and at one point she felt well enough to fight over a chair with Olivia.

We got home for an 8:00 PM bedtime, where there was minimal fuss. What a long, stressful day – I am so glad it is over.

Olivia did great at grandma and grandpa’s house! She missed her sister, but didn’t cry. She slept nonstop for 10 hours overnight. I am so proud of both of my girls.

I pray that this surgery will be successful, as I would prefer not to have to go through this again! I also thank God for how well it did go.