Upcoming Surgery

Hi everyone. I know it has been a while since I've posted anything new. Much has been happening but just those day-to-day occurrences that we all experience. The girls are getting settled in first grade and we are getting back into routines to keep us sane. Over the summer I seem to have forgotten how exhausting the 45 minute car ride home with them is after a full day of work. We actually broke down and went to pick up another DS recently! Having just two seemed fine until they all three became fixated with them and then caused more problems than having none. :) Seems to be the story of our life... Let's get one and share. No, maybe we should get two since they like it. Oh hell, let's go pick up the third! I think this has been going on since we thought we could get by with just one battery operated swing. You'd think by now we'd learn our lesson but as you know, there have been just as many times that we bought three of something and 1, 2 or 3 of the items never get played with. I was sharing with a good friend a while back how one of the girls' favorite "toys" right now is a baggie full of Dixie cups. You know which ones I'm talking about? I call them "Memaw's Cups" because my grandmother always had them in her bathroom but we never did at home. I thought it was pretty cool that when we went to Memaw's house we didn't have to use our hand to scoop the water into our mouths after brushing our teeth. Anyhow. we have these for the girls to use to rinse out their mouths and one day Naia realized they'd make a pretty decent pyramid. Since then they've made castles complete with a moat and bridge, pyramids, cars, houses for Barbies, etc. If you haven't gotten a box, you should think about picking one up the next time you're at the grocery store for hours of fun for about $2!

The main reason I wanted to stop in to write tonight was because Lena's surgery is quickly approaching. She'll be going in Monday to have eye surgery. Although I'm worried about the surgery and her reactions when we talk to her about going back to the hospital, I'm really happy that the date is close. Lena has had to wear her glasses every day. That's great except that her eyes are looking in two different directions. We are encouraging her to wear them properly to hold her eyelid open but on the other hand, it has to be difficult to function, read, play or even walk when there are two of everything and it's blurry. She has to do it though or her vision will continue to deteriorate. Then, once she gets home, she spends approximately the two hours until bedtime wearing a patch on the eye that has good vision. So now we're asking her to navigate with only her weaker eye that isn't even looking straight ahead. She can barely see and she has to turn her head sideways because the eye is pointed out. Ugggg, there's just no downtime for her. But as she has proven over and over, she is a trooper. She complains a bit but we now give her a Starburst each time her patch is put on and continue to encourage her to wear the glasses when at school even though it's confusing.

The eye surgery on Monday will basically consist of severing the two of the remaining 6 muscles that control the eye movement that are healthy and then reattaching those two so that her eye is stable and looks straight ahead. This will dramatically decrease the amount of double vision she is experiencing although it won't completely correct it since it really isn't that often that your eyes are both staring straight ahead. It's got to be better than what she's got going on now though and hopefully after the surgery, she'll be more motivated to wear the glasses and keep her left eye open.

Lena should be coming home the same day as her surgery and then will need 3-4 days of recovery. I'm not really sure what she'll be able to do during the recovery period but I'm sure we'll find some fun things to do to occupy our time. Maybe it's time for another pedicure and waxing lesson? :)

Once again I'd like to just take a moment to say thank you. I know there are many of you out there who continue to pray for Lena and keep her in your thoughts. So many people stop and ask about her each day that it fills my heart. I continue to write because I've learned how much I need that venue to process my thoughts and feelings but when I'm writing I try not to think much about people actually reading. For those of you who continue to follow us on our adventure, thank you. For those of you who are silently sending us strength, thank you. For those of you who love my daughter and allow yourself to be connected to her, thank you. She is worth it. She will be the one who grows and teaches me and those around her about strength, courage and perserverence. She will be the one who shows compassion and who strives to give. Her sisters will be the ones who are the protectors for those that need it. They will be the ones who work for equality. They will be the ones who understand that it is the heart of a person that makes that person what they are, not the physical attributes. They are deserving of the thoughts and prayers being spent on them.

One other thought... for those of you who are moms, whether you have little ones at home or whether your children are entering adulthood or have been there a while, I realized something... You are the "how-to" manual. Listening to your stories, watching you with your children, observing your face when you talk about their accomplishments or their struggles, you are the ones that give the rest of us strength to forge ahead. We learn from you, each and every day. Those of you who live day in and out with children with disabilities yet show up to work with a smile on your face, those of you who had a son or daughter pass away yet you live to graciously share stories of them with us, those of you who have watched your son or daughter move to another country, those of you who let your children grow to be what they want to be instead of what you want them to be... you really are the how-to manual for those of us who are struggling or are unsure of whether we're doing a good job. (Here's my processing in action!) I learn from you. You give me strength and courage. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

I'll come along next Monday or Tuesday with an update on how the surgery went to keep you posted. Much love to you my friends. :) Holland