Back Under Anesthesia

My daughter had an Evaluation Under Anesthesia (EUA) today to see what’s been going on with her eyes.   Frankly, honestly and truthfully, I’ve been having a hard time holding on to my positive attitude because she is just not seeing well.   It wavers and changes and just when you think she’s seeing something sort of okay, you realize she can’t see something pretty darn fundamental.    But that’s my problem, she seems to be coping just fine.    And that was my day yesterday; today I’m in a better frame of mind, mostly because we got good news.

The Good News:

1. The inflammation in her eyes is dramatically better.   When comparing images from the first EUA one of her doctors said it was like looking through a fog.   Today her eyes were clear.
2. The blood flow to her eyes is back to normal
3. The aberrant vessels that had grown in the anterior portion of her eyes has almost gone away as a result of the Avastin injection.

What Else We Found Out:

• Her right eye is still worse than her left eye (we could tell this bit.)
• Her detachments aren’t objectively better.   The detachments in her eyes are a little like a balloon losing fluid which turns into a wrinkly, saggy balloon.   She’s not seeing well at all right now because she’s got sagging retinas that can’t cohesively interpret the images being sent through the lens.  Even though her vision isn’t better yet, the healing that’s taken place is what’s important now.
• Serous detachments are less dire/sever for permanent damage.   Tear-based detachments can lead more easily to permanent damage.    Because the retina maintains its own blood flow, as long as blood flow to the eye is good (which now it is) there is less concern for permanent damage.
• The Atropine is affecting her near vision some, but by far the majority of her visual deficit right now is caused by the detachments.

The Next Plan:

• Reduce the Atropine to once per day.
• Work with Rheumatology for a plan to reduce the oral prednisone
• Come back for an EUA in three weeks to evaluate more

The Big Boy Update:  From the back of the car today my son said, “I hate to tell you this…”  I laughed under my breath because he said it in just the tone an adult would use.    He followed up with, “…my Crock is broken.”   And so it was.   

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter got this little bear.   He looks somewhat like Winnie the Pooh, but she named it “Sweet Tomatoes” saying, “Winnie the Pooh is a bear, mom.”   She likes to put it on the pillows on our bed so we’ll have a bear at night.