Riley's Surgery Day

Bright and early this morning, we headed out in the sideways-blowing rain toward Texas Children's Hospital for Riley's Surgery.

Yesterday afternoon, Riley was running a low-grade fever. Now we are pretty sure it is due to her teething. Going into surgery, it spiked to 101, however, going through with the surgery was ok since she didn't have any other signs of sickness.

We waited in the waiting room for about an hour and a half. Riley got to play with all the cool toys and books. 9:30 is when everything got started. A nurse called us in to explain everything and to take her vitals. Soon after, she was given eye drops and we were instructed to change Riley into the awesomely bright yellow Texas Children's hospital pajamas (which, we got to bring home!).

We waited for another hour in a smaller waiting room until the whole surgical crew came to meet Riley to take her back. The anesthesiology nurse handed Riley an iPad with a child's memory game on it and Riley was hooked. She fussed just a little bit as the crew took her back. It was a little heart-wrenching watching her go with the doctors.

Matt, Dad, David and I went downstairs and grabbed lunch at Chick-fil-A and then came back upstairs to wait for Riley to be moved into a recovery room. All in all, the process took about two hours. It was relieving when we were finally called back to see her in recovery. Riley was really fussy as she was being woken up. Matt and I were so happy to see her! She got to have a cup of juice and sit in our laps as she was being monitored to see when she could leave the hospital.

So... In the cataract surgery, the original plan was to remove the cataract (which they did) and replace the lens. However, the posterior chamber (where the new artificial lens would rest) had deteriorated. This had possibly gone on for 6-10 months. Once it fully disintegrated, the cataract lens filled with fluid... hence the cataract. Replacing the lens was only for my and Matt's convenience. Instead, we will be putting contact lenses in Riley's left eye. If this works well, she won't need to have another surgery in the future to put in an artificial lens.

Since we got home, she's been doing great! Still fussy, but able to enjoy a real meal and play a little. Tomorrow Riley goes back to Houston for a post-op check up with the surgeon. Thank you all for the prayers and thoughts!

Playing in the waiting room

Reading a book with Granddad

At home, still in the awesome yellow hospital pajamas with the eye patch