3rd eye surgery

We had our appointment at CHLA this afternoon, and I'm so beat.  Driving up there and back on a weekday with LA traffic is not fun, but on the bright side, we got some really promising news.  They are going to go ahead with the lens removal surgery on the right eye to get rid of the cataract.  The best part is, they are going to try to get us in for surgery on November 20th, which is perfect timing because Dave and I have the week off for Thanksgiving.  They normally do this surgery in the outpatient center, but with Ryan's history, they are going to use Dr. Lee's first morning slot in the main OR at CHLA, and Ryan will most likely spend one night there in the hospital.  They are going to request a spot at the Ronald McDonald House, but if he stays in the PICU instead of the NICU, there's a good chance he'd have his own room and I could just stay with him in there instead. 

Dr. Reiser will be performing the lens removal surgery and will also do a small vitrectomy while she's in there to remove any other scar tissue that may be behind the lens.  Then Dr. Lee will come in and examine both eyes while Ryan is still under anesthesia.  He explained how he can use a special light to look inside the eyes and figure out how nearsighted Ryan is so he can get a prescription.  Preemies have the tendency to become nearsighted, and he said that the fact that Ryan isn't tracking or focusing on much right now is a sign that he may be VERY nearsighted.  Once he can determine the level of his nearsightedness, he can set up a prescription for a contact lens.  Normally, a baby Ryan's age would just get glasses, but since he his having his right lens removed, and will need a contact to act as a temporary lens in that eye anyways, they said they might as well put a corrective contact in the other eye as well.  I'm so glad they are willing to do this sooner rather than later because I know that vision will make a big difference in Ryan's learning and development.  Once Ryan is is old enough and his eye is closer to full grown size, they will talk to us about putting in the permanent prosthetic lens in the right eye.

We are so blessed that we live in a place where some of the leading eye specialists in the world are within driving distance and available to help Ryan retain his vision, and we are so thankful for these answered prayers that there is still hope for a positive outcome with Ryan's vision.  Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes.  We'll keep you posted!