This side of surgery

**I am dreadfully behind on posting details about Darcy's surgery that was three weeks ago yesterday.  How has that much time passed already?** 

The eye center at Duke is TOP-NOTCH and I have only gushingly positive reports to give them.  The worst part was waiting to be called back to be with Darcy in recovery.  By the time an hour had passed since Dr. F came out to talk with us, I was pretty much climbing the walls.  But then the nurse called for me to come even though Darcy was still "under."  She smiled and said that when she read that it was Darcy's first surgery she remembered being in those shoes as a mother.  So she encouraged me to rub Darcy's face and talk to her until she was awake.  I was so happy to be with her when she began to flutter her eyelids and call in her sweet, sleepy voice, "Mama?"

When she kept down both 24 ounces of apple juice and 12 graham crackers and all her vitals checked out fine we were finally dismissed to head home.  We walked in at 8:45 and left shortly after 2. 

She did doze off on our way home, but shortly after we got her propped up and settled, she woke up.  Hungry!  And those pesky "no-no's" weren't going to stand in the way of her beloved Ramen.

It was then ALL we could do to keep the girl from jumping rope or hula hooping.  Finally I decided that despite the fact that she slept all morning, my best bet to keep her from being "too active" was having her take a nap.  Guess there was still some anesthesia in her blood, cause within minutes she was out cold and enjoyed a several hour nap.

There are many things about Darcy that I will always wonder.  One of those things is how she became so compliant.  I mean, she never once, in the five days that she wore her patch, ever tried to pull that patch off her face.  And the tape for it pulled as we had to pull it off ten times a day for her drops regimen.  But never did she complain or flinch.  She also never fought putting her "no-nos" back on which we took off for meals (after explaining to her with a combination of n Mandarin words. pantomime, and the English word eye that she could not touch her eye).  She'd just audibly sigh and hold out her little arms as we velcroed them back on.  And the drops themselves?  Lets just say that with a schedule like this

that I'm thankful it wasn't like that episode of Friends where Rachel had to be tackled by the rest of the crew to have drops in her eyes!  Darcy would simply rattle off something in Mandarin while holding out her hand for a tissue, leaning her head back at the same time.  Sweet girl even did what she could to keep her eye open in order to assist us.

The next morning we headed back to see Dr. F and she was very happy with the way things looked.  The pressure was at 31 (a bit higher than it had been during surgery the day before), but we were told that it was expected to temporarily rise due to the eye being messed with.  At home that afternoon Darcy was back to her spunky little self, blowing bubbles

And yes, I did take her to Duke that morning sporting a VT polo dress...

and putting on a little fashion show.

Yep, my gal is full of personality.  Never mind that she had been in our home for only one month and four days before going through surgery.  It didn't seem to phase her one bit.  I praise God for it not appearing to be an issue with our bonding/attachment progress.

We returned to see Dr. F the Monday after surgery for another pressure reading.  I was thrilled to hear her say, "I'm very encouraged by the results at this point!" (The pressure was down to 22, just three points above the normal range). Followed by, "If we continue to see this type of pressure decrease, we may be able to avoid further surgery for years."  What a wonderful thought after knowing that even if the goniotomy went well that we may be back for a second part of it in six to eight weeks!  

Monday we go back for the next follow up visit.  Obviously we are praying for a pressure reading under 19.  Monday will also be fun as Darcy's glasses have come in and we'll get to pick them up at that visit.  So tune in next week to see what comes next. 

One thing for sure, there is never a dull moment around this house.  Oh, except for moments like right now...

Yeah, common nap time is what keeps sanity in this house!

**And for a bit of housekeeping, thank you to everyone who has offered support in light of our recent "employment situation."  So many have left encouraging comments and scripture verses.  Believe me when I say we have been devouring those scripture references!  I have a lot of emails to respond to, but please forgive me if it takes a bit longer than usual ~ I am sharing my computer with someone who is job searching and resume tweaking...  And some of you I'd just call, but the only thing we lost this past weekend in GA is my voice.  It's on its way back now.**