My little man

After coming home from my amazing mommy vacation at the end of September, I had envisioned the month of October being one of catching up on projects, planting some fall flowers, cooking freezer meals and getting the house in order for after Noah's eye surgery. Well, after all my energy was re-directed to Caleb and his needs and a very busy month at work, let's just say, not much of that happened. Until last Monday, I had decided I just needed to let go of that, and we would get by just fine. Then, we had Noah's pre-op appointment.

There were several things I was not aware of until Monday. One is that for 2 weeks after eye muscle surgery, the eye muscles (and hence, eye balls) are not stable. The papers they give you say "no contact sports" but then the eye doctor's assistant goes on to describe what that translates to in toddler-land: no running, jumping, bike riding, scooter riding or anything other than just walking. Seriously? Anyone who has spent any time around a 3 year old knows that's just crazy. But, I totally get why it's that way, just not enjoying what that actually looks like. Oh, and no dirt, dust or sand.  So basically, no going outside. Lovely. Then, we find out that as he grows, his eye will likely turn out again and he will require surgery again later in life (if you asked me today, I'd tell you he'll just have to suck it up and deal with a crazy eye til he's 18 cuz we're not doing this again), but I digress. Again, makes sense to me, but still kinda stinks to know this isn't a one-time deal.  And, his eye will most likely turn in (aka be cross-eyed) for a few weeks after the surgery until his brain adjusts to the new position of his muscles. Needless to say, I left that appointment freaking out a little bit about what the next few weeks were going to be like.

We are now 2 days out from surgery and, honestly, it has been as rough as I thought it would be, but in the midst of the difficulty, I am reminded that there is much to be thankful for. First of all, there were no immediate consequences from the surgery or anesthesia, which is huge. The surgeon was very pleased with how the muscles were positioned and complimented him as having big, beefy muscles. :) But, equally as important is the amount of prayer and support we have been surrounded by. All day Thursday, I felt how enveloped we were in prayer.  It was not an easy day, but we got through and did ok. I was blessed by the mother of a patient who has become a friend, who very honestly shared with me what to expect after surgery because no one had prepared her for what her son would look like after eye muscle surgery. I'll spare ya'll the details, but I cannot say enough what a blessing it was to be to be prepared for all that. We have also been blessed by a church family that has made up a meal schedule for us and my sweet sister who got more people on board with that. Just a simple thing like not having to think at all about dinner and having a warm, yummy meal to sit down to is wonderful. I'm also trying to see the silver lining in the amount of time I have spent sitting on the couch with Noah keeping him occupied and quiet, and have been catching up on the blog and some reading when he is quiet.

We are far from done with all this, but I'm hoping the worst is behind us and glad to know that when his eyes are all healed up, our little dude will actually have depth perception and will not fall and hit his head on stuff nearly as often. Thank goodness for that!