November/December 2008:
At the beginning of November, Emily went in for an exam under anesthesia with Dr. Zaidman (her cornea specialist). Because of the ulcer and infection she had in her right eye, he thought it was important to find out exactly what was happening. Sadly we did not hear the kind of news we were hoping for. Due to the ulcer/infection she now has scarring on her right cornea and unfortunately it's right in the middle so we believe it is obstructing what vision she has. He prescribed a new eye drop to try and help reduce the scar tissue and we're hoping that over time it will dissipate. The Dr. also discovered that the pressure in both eyes was elevated again and increased the dosage of her Glaucoma medication. In addition to that, we also found out that she had a cataract in the left eye, which had decreased what little vision she had in that eye even further. Dr. Zaidman wanted to revisit the possibility of re-doing the corneal transplant in her left eye, but said he would like to get her eye pressure under control before doing it. To say the least we left the hospital with dashed hopes for her, but were trying to remain positive.
On December 17th she went under anesthesia again, this time in Manhattan with Dr. Kane, her Glaucoma doctor. He wanted to look further into why her eye pressure was not stabilizing at a lower level since the valves were implanted over the summer. During the exam the pressure was 14 in the Right and 24 in the Left, but that might have been a little lower than what it actually was due to the anesthesia. He confirmed that she did have a cataract in the left eye and said that he could not see through it to examine her retina. He found that the drainage tube for the left valve is possibly too close to her cornea and that could be the reason why it wasn't working as well as it should have been. Ultimately, she would need surgery to shorten the tube in the left eye and have it moved to a better location once the cataract has been removed. He said he could do both of those procedures at the same time, but it would require the assistance of another doctor. He also said that this should be done before Dr. Zaidman does the corneal transplant again in that eye, and he will call and speak to him about Emily's case to come up with a surgical timeline. At that point we were looking at possibly sometime towards the end of January, but that wasn't definite yet.
Last year was a very difficult and trying year for us and our family. In 2008 Emily had been through 6 surgeries and countless exams under anesthesia. She has come so far from where she was before, but at the same time still has a long road ahead of her. Everyday we thank god for giving her the strength to overcome the obstacles she has encountered. Anyone who has met Emily knows that she is probably the most happy and content baby you will ever meet. We hoped that 2009 will bring good news, good health and a more positive outlook for Emily's condition.
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