Monday, February 9, 2009

Oldschool Update

Oldschool because I actually have something to tell you about each of the girls on the same day...

Tricia is OK. The ER staff (thanks Todd!) confirmed our guess that the pain she is experiencing is probably a muscle or something else she may have pulled near her sternum. They took an x ray (thanks Wade!) and everything looked fine, which is what we expected...but, when you're dealing with a CFer/TXer/Lymphoma (in the chest) Survivor, you err on the side of caution, especially with chest pain.

It may take several weeks for the pain to go away, and she is limited with what kinds of pain meds she can take, but she'll survive. She says it hurts when she moves certain ways or when she pushes herself out of a chair...which is why she thought that she had just pulled a muscle. It's been hurting since last Thursday, and, this morning, we decided to go to the local ER when we got home from VA to get her checked out.

Gwyneth's lazy eye is actually getting a little worse...so, we're going to schedule a minor surgery to help strengthen her right eye. We'll get a phone call sometime soon and will know more then, which we'll convey to you. The surgery is outpatient and usually only takes about 45 minutes...the success rate is about 80% (meaning 20% need further surgery).

In the meantime, we'll continue with the eye patch (the patch in my last post was not the patch she uses...that was just for fun) and hope that it will improve on it's own.

All in all, it was a long day, reminding us of our time in Durham...but, in the end, we were able to come home and enjoy the evening together!

Thanks!

Nate

36 comments:

Christy said...

Good deal. Not awesome wonderful terrific news, however it is all things that can be corrected with a little help. Prayers that Tricia feels better soon and that Gwyneth starts getting better as well.

Standing in the Rain said...

My little brother had multiple of those kinds of eye surgeries. None with too much success, however. My mom now works as an assistant in a pediatric opthamologists office and is pleased with the current success of those surgeries.

I hope it works out well for Gwyneth. Let me know if you have any questions from a momma whose "been there, done that," so to speak!

Pam D said...

Thankful that it is what it is, and not what it could have been. Praying now that Gwyneth's surgery will go smoothly and that she'll be in that 80%.

Oma & Opa said...

Lifting your little one in prayer.
Betty Ann

Our life is a bowl of Barry's said...

Glad Tricia is Ok and that Gwyneth's surgery is a minor one. You'll just have to keep that patch for Halloween!

Violet said...

glad Tricia is doing well and hopefully the pain won't last too long. i've bruised a rib so i can imagine how incomfy she must be at times.
sux that Gwyneth has to have surgery but hopefully she'll just need the one and all will be fine.

Heidi said...

WHEW! I'm glad it is nothing more than a muscle pull. I can't tell you how many times i've gone to the ER/urgent care as a precaution. sometimes they laugh and say...ok why are you here! Once you tell them you are post-tx, they understand. It is always best to be careful!!!!! I'm glad it's nothing big.

The Pelhams said...

I don't know how you guys feel about chiropractors, but if you find the right kind, they are awesome and most of them christians. Go to www.activator.com and search for an activator doctor in your area for one that is rated advanced proficiency. Her pain will be gone in less than a week. Have Gwenyth looked at too. I have been going to mine for years and take my kids too, we went from the hospital to our chiro before going home when all of them were born!
I had some serious problems with my legs and ribs and he took care of them in a matter of weeks! Not sure if you had thought about it, but wanted to suggest it. Will be praying for Gwenyth's eye too.

Aggiema (Michelle) said...

I am not sure if it is the exact same kind of eye surgery but when my daughter was 2 she had stabismas (think I misspelled it) because her eyes went outward. The first surgery was too good, it over corrected the problem and caused her eyes to cross, so at age 3 they did another surgery to fix that. She wears glasses still but her doctor expects her to eventually grow out of the need for glasses, as they have gotten less strong over the years. The glasses that is, not her eyes! She had no problems with the procedure at all and was up and about in no time!

LA said...

Both my sister and brother had lazy eyes (one each!) Both had eye patches which helped some.

My sister's couldn't be corrected - it didn't get picked up early enough for surgery to make a difference, so she now wears glasses/contact lenses.

My brother had the surgery which helped a lot - he had it done when he was a toddler. He wore glasses for a couple of years after but no longer has to.

Will be praying for Gwyneth and Tricia!

Cristi said...

Praise God for good results!

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear!!

Debi said...

Glad to hear it's nothing major for Tricia! :) Although, I wanted to mention, too, the possibility of taking her to a chiropractor who practices the Activator technique. It's a lot more gentle and I think you might be surprised how much better she'll feel. I've had almost the same thing several times and then I just get adjusted and feel amazingly better. Just a thought! :)

Aspiemom said...

I'm glad to hear there was nothing major with Tricia - I don't blame you for being cautious.

I was having pain in my chest and since I'm a CFer I was cautious and saw the dr. He said I had inflmmation in an airway and get me samples of a new topical ibuprofen/anti-inflammatory to apply to the spot on my chest where the pain was radiating from. It helped immensely. Maybe that would be of help?

I hope Gwyneth's eye can be helped.

Mandy said...

My bf's little cousin had a similar issue. The patch didn't work either. However, they tried these drops that go in the good eye and make it cloudy and that did the trick. So maybe other less invasive tricks are still available :) Hate to see such a pretty little face in pain!

Amy Lynn said...

Hey Nate, I've had that eye surgery twice (at Gwyneth's age and then again at 13) and am doing great.

Laurie in Ca. said...

Good news Nate. So glad that Tricia just over did it and it is not anything else. Praying for it to heal quickly. Gwyneth's eye will be fine after surgery, I just know it. This little squirt has overcome so many obstacles, and she will overcome this one too. You sure have two princess warriors in your home.:)

Love and Hugs, Laurie

Agnes said...

Hooray for all things " normal"!

Judy said...

Whew...glad Tricia will be fine and that it's nothing super serious!
Let us know when Gwyneth has her surgery so we can be praying!

Tumbleweed said...

The surgery being done, on Gwyneth, is a very common surgery. 3 of my 4 kids have had it done (can be genetic), and have done great. Expect a Gwyneth to be fussy, on day 1, and maybe day
2. Using a wet washcloth, over the eyes, helps. My youngest benefited, alot, with having eye patches, over both eyes, for about 12 hours (through the night). Don't be shocked if you see a lot of red, in the area of the surgery. That is normal, and will diminish over the next couple weeks.

Very glad to hear that Tricia is doing great!

debbale said...

Glad to hear Tricia checked out ok. My little sister had this type of surgery in both eyes and it came out great. This was over 20yrs ago and I know there have been vast improvments since then! Praying for same outcome for Gwyneth.

Jodi said...

My daughter had to have that surgery on her eyes last September. She still has some issues with her eyes, but that surgery helped with her development tremendously. She started sitting up and grabbing toys and has just taken off from there. Good luck!

NicoleC said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
NicoleC said...

I was born with amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus(cross-eyed). I had my first surgery at age 1.5, the second at age seven and the third at age 18. They're not perfect, but you can really only tell when I'm really tired. I wore glasses from six months until I was 18. I'm 33 and still see my pediatric ophthalmologist and he's 99% certain I will never need glasses again.
She'll do great and I think you will be VERY pleased with the results if her Doc is half as great as mine!
http://www.houstoneye.com/index.php?/doctor/action/view/doctor_name/Malcolm_Mazow

Katy said...

Prayers for both the girls! You guys are such an inspiration and fun to follow.

Thanks for sharing so many intimate details of the trials you experience day to day and for staying positive through it all!

~Kate

Andrea said...

Well, a pulled muscle is better than some of the other options! I hope it heals quickly for Trisha!!

I'll be praying that Gwyneth's eye surgery is a success!

Michelle Jamie said...

Thanks for the update!

Justine, Romy's Mama said...

Thank God for pulled muscles! Way better than anyting serious!

Jennifer and Mark Kiel said...

Hi! My name is Jennifer and I actually had the same surgery to correct lazy eye in my right eye. I had it when I was 4 and it was fixed! I'll be thinking about little Gwyneth as she undergoes the minor operation.

Rick Lawrenson said...

I also had a crossed right eye like Gwyneth. The surgery at age 4 did the trick. And this was back in 1960. So I'm guessing it's much better today.

My main memories were in the OR when they put this mask over my face and turned on that foul smelling gas to knock me out. I tried to pull it off. The other memory is when the doc pulled the bandage off after the surgery (maybe two or three days). It was one of those rip it off in an instant deals.

No more problems with the eye until I was 17, and then only when I got really tired. Same today.

So Gwyneth has me to thank. Not only does she undeniably have my good looks, she got my crossed right eye.

Lynsey said...

My older brother was born with a lazy eye and they tried everything to correct it, to no avail. He's 34 years old and still has it, but it's become such a cool, concrete part of him, we don't even notice it nor have we noticed it for years now.

Anyway, I thought I'd throw that out there. I hope it goes well in Gwyneths case!! I don't think there is anything "lazy" about her. :)

Lynsey

Kerry said...

My son had two surgeries done to correct his eyes - he had one of the absolute best doctors anywhere - he has since moved to UCLA I think... Anyway, unless my son is really tired you can't tell how bad his eyes used to be! I held him as he went down and woke up and he never knew anything strange happened - his eyes never seemed to bother him during recovery!

Marion said...

My son just had eye surgery in Nov. Not a big deal...worst is waiting in the waiting room. And the way it looked after surgery. Really gross for about 5 days. I wish someone would have told us what it would have looked like or even seen pictures.

Our sons eye looked completely "normal" after about 2 weeks.

If you want more details you can email me

Jenny said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jenny said...

Glad all is well with Tricia. Praying that all goes well with Gwyneth's surgery!

Paige Hinrichs said...

Glad to hear your girls are doing well! My 3 yr old is having the same surgery. His is so severe, he can almost look on either side of one person at the same time! : ) Let us know how everything goes.