There have still been setbacks and we don't have keys yet, another long story. But hopefully in the next few weeks we will be enjoying this:
The house has been vacant for a year, so the vegetation needs a lot of TLC. We had to get the pool cleaned up and fixed... which is another long story. Basically, the bank told us they wouldn't approve the loan until the swamp pool was cleaned up. But the buyer was walking away, so we had to pay for it ourselves. Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as expensive as it could have been. We had a scare when we called the pool repair guys, apparently this type of pool should never be emptied and there was a chance that the pool could be a total loss! They filled it up asap and then did an inspection and said it was still in really good condition. Even though it was annoying that the bank required it all to be fixed, we are grateful because what if we had bought the house and had found out we had worthless hole in the ground!
On the other side of the excitement spectrum, we had a regular eye exam for Willa two weeks ago. We usually go two or three times a year to check her alignment. Her one eye always struggles to straighten as much as the doctor wants. It starts straight but as the doctor stresses it, it starts turning inward. There's a condition where this just happens when the eye is fatigued and it's not a big deal, but with Willa we noticed that she was losing her depth perception, which is a sign that it's turning inward most of the time. When we first started going to this doctor two years ago, Willa could identify almost all the 3D images. Now, she gets the one big one, but hardly any of the others. Last appointment she just got two and that was good for her. So we would go back every few months and check the eye and tweak the prescription, but finally we are at the strongest prescription she can have and it still wasn't great so the doctor recommended surgery. (Ryan wonders if her eye was worse because she spend so many summer hours in the pool without her glasses on.) It was a 60-90 minute procedure and the doctor went in and loosened the muscle that was pulling the eye in. Sometimes she does two muscles on one eye, but more often she does one muscle on each eye. Why did she need to do two muscles? I'm not sure, but something about balance in the universe.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this surgery except that coming out of anesthesia would be bad. I was hopeful that recovery would be easy because the doctor said Tylenol would be enough and didn't prescribe narcotics for after the surgery. Well....after experiencing it, I'm going to go ahead and say it was way rougher than her broken arm surgery. The eyes are just so sensitive. The arm was really painful the first time and she did need the narcotics. But with the eyes, they are just irrititated and scratchy and it's not an area where you can really comfort her. Plus, we have to do antibiotic eye drops four times a day for two weeks, which is pretty miserable for a five year old. She's getting used to it, but still hates it. I think she's starting to realize that the drops help her eyes feel better. If she would take regular eye drops it would be way more comfortable for her too, but she was NOT interested in additional drops. The main comfort is a wet cooling cloth that she keeps by her side. When her eyes really start to bother her she presses it on her eyes and it provides some relief. Pre-op:
For being so brave and going to surgery Willa finally earned the Elsa Frozen Fever Lego castle that she has been eyeing and earning a job chart for for months. It ended up being the best distraction the first two days since bright lights and the tv were irritating for her eyes. The prize for two weeks of eye drops? A mermaid fin. I feel so bad that she's been through so much at such a young age. When I told her about the surgery she started crying and asked if they were going to put a mask on her face again (for the anesthesia). It's so sad that she remembered enough from the previous surgery two years ago to be afraid of specific things. Since she had just turned four for her last surgery and she's still five, she asked me if she has to have a surgery for every year old she is. I hope not!!
Driving home from the surgery center. Her eyelids were all swollen :(.
Day 2, almost finished with her Legos. It was such a great distraction!
