Another eye surgery @ Duke......

Whew there has been LOTS of activity since March and time has just gotten away from me! BOTH the girls have gotten married, our oldest had a baby, and of course we are building a house! So life has been just a little CRAZY! I promise to do a post just on the wedding soon! 

Yesterday, Jordan, Cory, Derek, & myself traveled to Duke. This eye surgery is to work on the good eye, yes that is right I said the good eye.  When Jordan had surgery in March Dr. Buckley was originally supposed to work on the right “good” eye but ended up just working on the left “bad”eye. With that being said Dr. Buckley and Dr. Bradley discussed with us after the fact that surgery on the good eye was still an option to be able to help straighten the bad eye.  After waking up in March with having a completely different surgery that was was expected it took Jordan some time to decide if she would or wouldn’t have another surgery.  To be honest I think she struggled with this decision and it was a decision that only she could make. 

With that being said, one day I was checking my emails and got an appointment reminder that she had a follow up appointment on Oct 8th for a post surgical follow up. I immediately called Jordan because we were unaware of the appointment and was freaking out a little bit because I was unsure if we would be able to work out work schedules to make this appointment. That was when she told be that she had made the decision to do the surgery and she had scheduled it. So here we are! 

Today’s surgery consisted of him loosening the inner muscle of the good eye to hopefully help straighten the left eye.  He was very hopeful when I talked to him post op and he is expecting good results!  We got her back to the hotel late afternoon and we are all grateful that this time around there has been NO nausea and vomiting!  She has ate, napped, and just said she might feel up to going out to get some supper! 

Thanks for all the continued prayers & support for Jordan & our family.  Her journey, her strength, and her resilience never stops amazing me!  

The update everyone has been waiting on...............

What a whirlwind March and April have been!  We just got back from Boston a couple of weeks ago and what a fun time we had! The city was preparing for the Marathon when we were there and it was amazing to see the strong sense of community in such a big city! We enjoyed getting to see where the finish line was going to be and all of the bleachers being set up for the public.  The weather was so  cold while we were there that we actually took in two  movies while we were there and of course ate lots of good food! 
Now for the GREAT news!  They were absolutely thrilled with Jordan's wonderful smile! They did mention doing another small procedure and she is still debating it since we have so  much going on this summer!  So I will keep ya posted on that!   Her therapy session with Mara was VERY cool! She  taught Jordan some exercises and how to focus on smiling without making her good side smile so big!   She was absolutely wonderful and made us feel like Jordan was her only client! Below is a picture after working her and she was such an amazing person! So, Jordan was given some great tools to help make her smile even more symmetrical and was taught some exercises to help the muscle!  I still get teary eyed every time I see this AMAZING smile! 

So right after we got home from Boston Jordan had a follow up with Dr. Bradley to check on her eye!  Hold on to your seats folk because this is HUGE!  For the first time since 2012 Jordan does NOT have to wear glasses!  Yes, she still has some double vision in her left eye but she can now compensate for it! I think my girl is having an amazing year & I couldn't be happier for her! 

Eye surgery update......

I know everyone has been anxiously awaiting this update & rightfully so!  Last week when Jordan was in preop for surgery we were told that she would be back anywhere from 30-40 minutes to 2hrs.  The plan was to go work on the right eye(the good eye) and to POSSIBLY work on the left eye (the bad eye).  When Dr. Buckley came out a little over 2hrs later, he dropped the bombshell that he ONLY worked on the outer muscles of the left eye!  I was so shocked I couldn't even ask that many questions at the time.  He explained his reasoning was that he needed to see what all he could get out of the left eye before touching the right eye.  I understood and respected this decision but whew this was a hard thing to swallow after 2 previously failed attempts!  All I was worried about was telling Jordan this news.

As, usual she was a spitfire when she woke up!  The nurses thought she was funny and we amazed at how coherent she was after just having anesthesia! She immediately asked why the left eye was covered vs the right eye. She took the news as good as expected but was still foggy on the why of it. The one positive from this surgery was she had NO nausea and vomiting & we got to take her home pretty quickly after surgery! The eye had to stay patched for 24hrs and we had to continually put ointment in it until she was seen the next am. When we got her settled in at the hotel the shock started to set in that only the left eye was worked on. There were lots of tears shed and we all did our best to reassure her with some success. I was devastated and just wanted to take all of her pain away! If only Mom's could do that for our children! The next day we saw him in clinic and this time he explained to her why he chose to only work on the left eye.  He also explained that yes, he does still want to work on the right eye in the future. While Jordan respected this decision she has been very discouraged since that day. She has had many emotions and fear that that this surgery was again, a waste of time.  We have all tried to keep her reassured and Cory has done an excellent job taking care of her! So,to be honest I really have been procrastinating on a update until we had her follow here.

Today, we saw Dr. Bradley in clinic.  Jordan had prepared herself as best she could for the bad news that she just knew was coming & I had tried to prepare myself.   Jordan did all the normal tests and then the waiting to see Dr. Bradley began! This wait felt like forever! Finally, she came in the room and after catching up with us, she started her own testing.  To our surprise, she gave us POSITIVE news!!  She saw GREAT improvement, in her eye! She even told her that she could go without her glasses until she saw her again in the next few weeks and then she would retest her eyes and make any changes to the prism and lenses at that time! Oh, how the happy tears flowed & the surprise of NO glasses was HUGE!  So, prayers were answered!  Now, some of you are thinking does she still see double, and the answer is yes in that left eye but with lots of improvement!  Before she could not go without her glasses because the double vision was so bad it would make her sick.  Jordan hasn't wore her glasses since the surgery and has done well without them.  She told Dr. Bradley it was because she was in denial about the surgery! She is just one strong and amazing girl!

So, now our focus shifts to her follow up in Boston in April and the follow up apt with Dr. Bradley. Thanks again for all the thoughts & prayers!

Duke Eye Surgery....3/4/19

Oh what a road trip!!  We arrived in Durham yesterday and are so thankful to have Taylor & Cory along with us this trip!  Last night we got settled in, got some dinner and had some YUMMY Thai ice cream that was made right there in front of us!  I suggest if you are ever here to stop by the Snow Factory and check them out!

Today was surgery today and things went a little differently than planned. The plan was to work on her right eye (the good eye) and possibly work on the left eye. When Dr. Buckley came out to talk to us he said that once he started the surgery and looked at both eyes good, he decided to just work on the left eye.  He said that he made this decision because he needed to see what exactly he could get out of the left eye before working on the right eye.  I know that he did work on the muscle but not sure exactly what muscles he worked on.  Yes, this Mom had a weak moment and didn’t ask for clarification because I was not expecting to hear that news. While I was shocked by the news,  I so respect this decision and we are anxious to talk with him more tomorrow about this at her follow up appointment. 

We are so thankful that so far Jordan has NO nausea and vomiting this time around!  We are praying that this continues! At this time Jordan is resting well and her pains seems to be under control. Our main thing over the next 24hrs is to keep the eye good and moist!  This is important to help the eye heal since her left eye does not close all the way! We are hopeful to have a very quiet and uneventful night! 

Thanks for all of your thoughts & prayers!  Please continue to PRAY FOR JORDAN! 

Get your tissues out......AMAZING NEWS!!


            
  Day of Surgery 11/5/18                  Yesterday 2/13/19

 

The above picture says it all!!!!!  Jordan has movement and some feeling!   There are so many tears of joys!!  My girl has waited over 6 years for that big beautiful smile to be somewhat symmetrical & the wait has been worth it. Look how beautiful her and that smile are!!   The movement and feeling began a couple of weeks ago and has advanced along to what you see above!  She is BEYOND excited and thrilled that there has been such positive results with this last surgery!  She is also anxious to get to Boston for her follow up in April to have the therapy appointment to teach her how to do the smile above with more ease instead of having to concentrate on smiling.  For now she is enjoying that smile and all of us are enjoying seeing it! We are gearing up for the eye surgery which has been moved to 3/4/19.  She is a little apprehensive about it but very hopeful that the surgery will be successful!

On other news....as some of you may have heard Jordan & Cory are getting MARRIED this year!!!  They were submitted and were the lucky winners of a wedding by The Great Wedding Giveaway!  They both are SO excited and thankful to have been given such a generous gift. The wedding planning is in full swing and we are very thankful to have Lindsay (White Oak Design, CO.) as our wonderful wedding planner! We are excited about all of the amazing vendors that are on board and can't wait to tell you all about them!


So an exciting year ahead and as always thank you for all of the thoughts and prayers!
PRAY FOR JORDAN!