doc appointment update

More good news to report. Thursday’s visit to the cornea specialist, Dr Song, delivered us more good news that the retina has continued to remain attached and the cornea is healing nicely. Jasper was strapped in the super Velcro harness once more, something he’s become somewhat accustomed to. The doctor was able to peel open his eye lids, a feat in itself with jasper strength, and noted that the scar might not be as centered as once thought. He says the scar is healing nicely and is slightly off center from the center of the eye. The scar will be noticeable for the rest of his life and the iris and pupil will appear a bit irregular. This can be corrected eventually with a cosmetic lens…although I will attempt to convince him how cool his scar looks.

We are to meet up again with the Doc in 2 weeks. At that time, he will make a determination whether we simply remove the stitches (if the cornea continues to heal nicely) or proceed with a cornea transplant. The cornea transplant would require 2 surgeries: one for the transplant and one a few months later to remove those stitches. The cornea transplant has other complications: infection, excessive bleeding, and the chance jasper’s eye would reject the cornea. In addition, young toddlers success rate is lower than adults. The rejection rate is about 40% for young kids while adults is about 15%.

As I’ve stated a few times, the best part is that the retina has remained attached. The doctor reiterated how important this is. “I can’t fix the back (retina), but I can fix the front (cornea).”

Dr Song also confirmed that jasper’s lens is gone. This means once the decision is made whether the original stitches simply come out or the transplant is performed, jasper will have to place, er…mara and I will have to place a contact lens in the eye. Otherwise, he won't be able to focus. This lens will have to be placed in each morning and removed each night…something mara and I can do in a heartbeat to help him see. His ointment and eye drops are now reduced to twice a day which will give us a bit of a break.

Many have asked me if the donor cornea comes from a deceased person. I finally found the proper wording to ask. Yes, once the surgery is scheduled, jasper will be placed on a list. If someone under 30 years has deceased within the previous 10 days, jasper could potentially receive his or her cornea. Dr Song mentioned he performs about 150 cornea transplants a year and approximately 2 a year have to be rescheduled due to a lack of a donor cornea.

Lastly, we most likely won’t be able to decipher how much sight jasper will have from the eye until he begins talking well enough to convey to us the degree. This might be a year from now. In the past week, he’s begun to open his eye lids much wider, giving us a glimpse into how coordinated the bad eye is with his good one. It’s still a tad difficult to tell, but he seems to be moving it quite well.

sorry, no pics from the visit. thank you all once more for your prayers, thoughts, and nice notes!