CRAP CRAP CRAP!!!!

We just got back from the opthamologist and the news wasn't good. At her last appt two weeks ago, the pressure in her eye was 31 (normal is 15 to 17). We just got back and it's still 31. So we've got another two weeks or we're looking at eye surgery again. When she was four and we did this, she had a procedure called a goniotomy. Basically what they do is make incisions in the fluid draining mechanisms on the side of the eye which allows the fluid to drain out. The local opthamologist thinks she is too old for that procedure so she'd have to have something called a tribeculectomy. What they do is insert a small baseball base shaped plate at the back of the eye with a small valve at the top (the pointy end). That valve is connected to a tube which is inserted into the eye and comes out on the side of the pupil but not all the way thru. So this is a much more complicated procedure, one that could throw the arthritis in her eye into overdrive. She'd have to go on oral steroids to combat that. We're probably looking at a few days out of town since she'd have to have frequent follow-up. And there are three possible complications - the valve is set too high and too much fluid drains out and her pressure is too low; the valve is set too low and there's not enough fluid draining out and her pressure stays high; or she can get a clog in the tube -- any of which mean a second surgery. Plus, we'd have to give her an eye drop every hour on the hour for 24 hrs after surgery. Now the only bright spots are the opthamologist who has treated her is the head of opthamology at the Hospital for Sick Children and he's world reknowned. And our local opthamologist is comfortable taking up her post-op care - after the first couple of days anyway.

Sigh -- not a happy camper now. The other good thing is Amanda was very calm and composed when we discussed all this and she and I had a long conversation about what to expect and she's ok with it. Sometimes she amazes me with her resilience!!

Michelle