The doc appointment with the cornea specialist went very well today. Thank you again for all your prayers.
Here is the latest: there is still a considerable amount of blood inside the retina. The cornea specialist today feels this is most likely due to the fact the laceration was deep enough to puncture the lens, allowing for blood to enter the inside of the eye. Chances are that now the natural lens is completely gone. However, according to the doctor, to replace the lens with an artificial one is not a huge concern.
The real concern is that the body will try and absorb the blood in the eye through scar tissue. This is dangerous since scar tissue will increase the chances of the retina detaching. Considering jasper’s age, he will form scar tissue much faster than say, a 10 year old. Allowing the retina to detach is the worse case scenario. Hence, jasper will have a surgery this Tuesday to basically clean out the eye and by doing so will reduce the chances of detaching to 5-10%. We are meeting with a retina specialist on Friday to discuss this surgery.
6-8 weeks later, jasper will have another surgery to remove the stitches used to seal up the eye last week. At the point, a judgment call will be made to see how well the scar has healed. Since the laceration is directly in the center of the eye and field of vision, it’s important that is heals as thin as possible. If it hasn’t by then, the doctor might perform a cornea transplant from a donor.
Then, the ball is essentially in ours and jasper’s hands. We will have to patch jasper’s good eye for a few hours a day until the age of eight in order to force him to use his bum eye. If not, there is a considerable risk that the brain will begin to stop using the bum eye…creating a “lazy eye”. When we reach the age of eight, supposedly the mind solidifies its motor coordination with the eyes.
Lastly, jasper will be outfitted with a pair of glasses soon. This will do 2 main things: get him accustomed to wearing glasses and protect the other good eye, God forbid he has another accident.
We got the green light to give jasper a bath tonight. He didn’t want to get out. The best part about today is now we have a game plan. We know what to expect for the most part, can prepare for the future, and we received plenty of answers to our questions and concerns.
Thank you to everyone that has been keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.
3 comments:
Hey guys, we were very upset by the news of Jasper's accident. We can only imagine what you've been through. It's a such terrible thing to have happened. We're so sorry. We're also moved by your strength and courage to be handling it all the way you are. We hope that the procedures go very well.
Please know that you are all in our thoughts and prayers.
Love Aaron and Nicky
Pick out a sweet pair of recspecs with an adjustable elastic strap and send us the bill. April, Eli and I would like to help out any way we can. Seriously Jones, send us the bill or show me what you want and we'll take care of it. You might want to get anti-fog lenses so your gas doesn't fog up his glasses.
Jasper and you should get matching spex if at all possible. Great news from where you started last week, Joey. I hope you and mara are doing OK now with this vision of the future and Jasper getting beyond this. Jasper is so fortunate to have such great parents that are so focused on his well being.
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