Friday turned out to be an interesting day. I was able to go to the hospital and spend time with the girls for the first time in nearly a week. It was so great to be with them. They are getting so big and are just so cute.
Early Friday afternoon, just before I arrived, the girls had their check-up eye exams to check the progression of ROP (retinothopy of prematurity). It's complicated to explain. If you really want to know, I suggest you google it. Otherwise, just know it has to do with the blood vessels growing correctly from the eye and attaching in the right places. If they don't, it can cause various degrees of vision problems including blindness.
I'd been there a little while when the doctor had news about the results of the exam. Natalie's eyes looked very good. What little ROP she had shown on her last exam actually appeared to be correcting itself and looked better than before. Abigail had a similar report for her right eye. Her left eye was a different story. It showed increased ROP to Stage 3 (of 5). The DR doctor felt that she may need corrective laser surgery. So, (this is the good news part) - they transferred Abby back to Duke to be seen by the doctor there. Apparently they only do the surgery at Duke. Therefore, to our great delight, Abby arrived back at Duke at about 8:30pm Friday evening. It was like coming home. The familiar waiting room, the friendly front desk staff, the short sleeved gowns and cushy chairs...It was wonderful. Ben accused me of being downright giddy. (and I was!)
When we walked in the room to see Abby, I'm proud to say I recognized her right away. But, we almost didn't believe it and double checked her tag because she was in a "big girl bed"! She was no longer in an isolette, but an open bed with a heater lamp about 2.5 feet above her. She was just so beautiful. She was actually just lying there without any blankets, and although her temp was good, I thought she looked cold, so we covered her with her special pink blanket and placed her little froggy at the head of her bed. I just can't say how adorable she looked.
The doctor came in about 9:15pm and checked her eyes. It's not a really fun exam and the babies don't care much for it. I don't think it hurts really; it's just uncomfortable. Of course, to Abby it was all the same and she cried and cried. Her darling daddy couldn't take it. He had to leave the room. It was really just too sweet and it was immediately clear who would be taking the kids for their vaccinations and any shots in the future.
In the end - the news was much better than we expected. The Duke doctor said she did NOT have Stage 3 ROP. There were a few spots that were stage 3, but overall it was still stage 2 and she felt it may correct itself as the other eye had. Also, for now, Abby does not need any corrective surgery. They will continue to monitor it and check her again in about a week. There's a chance it could worsen and she could need the surgery after all, but there's also a chance it will get better and she won't. We just have to wait and see.
For those who were paying attention - yes, Abby's trip back to Duke was a solo one. They didn't have enough room for Natalie too. So, poor Natalie is still stuck back at Durham Regional. We aren't sure how long Abby will stay at Duke. They may send her back to DR, then bring her back for her check-up. Or, they may keep her until the check-up. It probably depends on how much room they have and if they need the beds for children who are more critical. I'm going to ask about Natalie being transferred to Duke as well, especially if they are going to keep Abby for at least a week. Honestly, I'd be surprised if they agree to it. There's really no medical reason. I just don't like them being apart, and it does make it harder on us to go between two hospitals. However, if Abby can stay at Duke another week, I'll gratefully hospital-hop for as long as necessary.
Please pray that Abby's eye will heal and there will be no damage to her eye sight. As always, thanks for your prayers.
No comments:
Post a Comment