Tate's Surgery

Warning: VERY WORDY POST

Well, we made it through this long awaited surgery.  It was back in mid-January but hey.

Tate was a little leery that morning.  We hadn't told him much about what was going on, but he could tell something was happening.  He did great until they (quite literally) ripped him out of my arms to take him to surgery.  Could have handled that a little better, but that was the most traumatic part.

The surgery took about 45 min. or so, but it was a good hour and a half before we could go back and see him.  As the nurse was walking us back to the recovery room, we could here him yelling at the top of his lungs.  Paul and I looked at each other like, "ah crap".  He reacted to the effects of anesthesia just like I thought he would.  Not good.  We turned the corner and there were THREE nurses trying to hold him down so he wouldn't yank out his IV or rub his eyes.  As soon as we got to him, they handed him over and were outta there!  He kept saying "I've got an eyebrow (eyelash) in my eye!!"  His skin was really hot, and he was thrashing so hard I couldn't hold on to him.  He kept trying to leave the room, but couldn't walk straight.  

Before the surgery I told him we could go up a floor to his Dr.'s office and see the BIG model train set they have.  The first thing he said when he got a hold of himself was, "Can I go see the trains now?"

  We were happy to oblige and by the time we got to the car he was being very sweet.  "I love you mom, I love you Paul".  Never turned back.

When we got home, there were all kinds of prizes, from Aunt Heidi, waiting for him.  Thank you Aunt Heidi!  So sweet.

Tate and his best bear "Buddy" as we were leaving for surgery.

Good bye old eyes.

Getting ready for surgery.

Spiderman skivs

Changed his mind and wanted blue instead.

When Daddy got there.

So, today marks 6 weeks since his surgery and after his checkup, I'm happy to report that his eyes are perfectly straight and he has 20/20 vision!!!!!  20/20!!!!  He was wearing bifocals before!  I had no idea that would happen.  I was told he would have to wear glasses for most of his life.  The change is pretty dramatic.  Talk about a big payoff.  We spent so much time and effort trying to make this happen.  What a blessing!  We are so grateful that things turned out as well as they did.  Grateful that Tate had a safe and successful surgery.  Thanks for all the prayers!

(I'll get some photos of his "new" eyes up here soon)