Avery's Update

Avery saw her eye specialist yesterday and everything looked really good. Her vision was 20/30. She still has not developed any cataracts, and everything inside her eye looked really good. The doctor was really happy with her progress and said that he will see her again in a year. He said that it is still a possibility that she will need cataract surgery later. All in all it was very good news. She is our little miracle!

For those who do not know the story, it is not for the faint of heart. If eye things make you squeamish, don't read this story! Two years ago, I turned around to see Hallie playing with a very large screwdriver. I told Hallie to put the screwdriver down, she threw it instead. On the way down, it grazed Avery in the eye. I rushed her to the ER. By the time we saw a doctor, her iris, which is very spongy by the way, was coming out of her eye. Several doctors came parading through the room asking if they could see her, because they had never seen this kind of injury before, that was very comforting.

We saw an eye doctor a few hours later, and the prognosis was not good. She would have emergency surgery that night to stitch up her eye. They would push as much of the iris back in and then stitch it up. He told us best case scenario she would keep her eye but have little, to no vision in that eye, and would have to wear a contact(all I could think, was how on earth do you put a contact on a 2 year old?). Worst case scenario, she would lose her eye. It was very scary waiting with her to go into surgery. She looked so tiny in the huge surgical bed. The surgery went well and then we stayed in the hospital for a few days to watch for infection. She was such an angel in the hospital, being that she was two years old and had to stay in the bed at all times.

Hallie is still really sensitive about this story. Those of you who know her, know that she would not hurt a fly. She felt and still feels really bad about this. It about broke my heart talking to her while I was in the hospital, she just kept saying "mommy, I am so sorry, I didn't mean it." Her Auntie Emily was taking care of she and Hayden so Nick and I could be with Avery. Emily told us that Hallie just kept praying for forgiveness and saying that she was so sorry that she hurt Avery. She cried every day that Avery was in the hospital.

After a few days in the hospital they sent us home. She had to wear this patch at all times and have 3 kinds of drops in her eye 4 times a day. She went in for another surgery about a month later. News was not very good at this surgery. The doctor said she was developing a lazy eye and that several cataracts were forming. Most likely she would be facing cornea replacement surgery. She was totally free of infection, which was very good news.
After surgery, they sent us to see a new specialist. Her visions was 20/65, which he was very concerned about. He started her on some new therapy and replaced her patch with these glasses, which she was very excited about. Her eye was very sensitive to light, she sometimes had to wear sunglasses in the house. When she went outside she had to wear sunglasses and still cover her eye with her hand. After a month her vision improved to 20/40, which was fabulous news.

Four months after her injury she had her final surgery to remove the stitches. Things went very well at this surgery. The next week at her follow up appointment her vision was 20/30. Her eye was tracking very well and responding well to light. The doctor said that it was a miracle that her eye was doing so well. It was an answer to so many prayers. People all over the country were fasting and praying for her. To us it is proof that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers and that miracles happen today.