tate's new eye

This is going to be a short post... I'm exhausted. But this day was phenomenal. Tate got his new eye made today and he loves it! We all do. I'll do a more in-depth, tons-of-photos post in a day or two, but for now, I just wanted to let you know that it went very well! Thank you again for all of your support! 


This is Tate with his ocularist, Michael Boyd! Thank you, Mr Boyd. We are so happy!

here we go!

The appointment time has arrived. The surgeon has given the go-ahead, the bribes rewards have been decided, and the child is getting a good night's rest. We are leaving bright and early (7am) to head to Burlington for Tate's appointment to have his prosthetic eye made. It's an all-day appointment, but we won't have to stay in the office all day. There will be several stages to the appointment, and we'll be able to come and go between them. The part that I'd like to request prayer for, of course, is getting a good impression. This is where he has to be still for THREE WHOLE MINUTES. I bet most of you couldn't do that. Yeah, neither could I. So... prayers are appreciated (as always!) and I will keep facebook updated during the day. I have been given permission by the ocularist to bring my camera to the appointment and document the day for all of you. I hope that I'll at least be able to do a quick update tomorrow night, but I may not be able to do a full post on it until Sunday or so. For those of you who don't know, I'm back to working full-time nights now at the airline, so I keep really busy anyway, but we're planning to take the boys to the zoo on Saturday if the weather holds out, as an extra prize for Tate. 


I can't believe this day is finally here. It's been such a whirlwind. It's hard to believe it's been 6 weeks since his surgery already, but on the other hand, it seems like it's been forever. We're getting used to seeing him without an eye now. I remember when he first started going without his bandage that I flinched a couple of times when I looked at him. Not because I was grossed out or anything, but just because I would forget for a minute. That's a good thing.... to not think about it all the time. He's such a happy, normal kid. And that's all I want for him. He's still not excited about getting his new eye. I asked him tonight if he wanted to bring his new sock monkey that his Nana got him... he said "No, Mommy, I don't want him to get hurt." That breaks my heart. We've reassured him again and again that it won't hurt. I told him a couple of weeks ago when he was worried about it hurting that it would hurt even less than his surgery did. He said "But my surgery didn't hurt!" I told him that was great and that everything would be easy-peasy then. I know he's scared. I mean, really... he's 4 years old. It has to be nerve-wracking... just the anticipation alone. He doesn't know what to expect (frankly, neither do I) but I really think he'll do great. 


The timing seems good to get his prosthetic. He has a little cold, and apparently, that makes his eye socket pretty gunky. I was cleaning it today, and let me put it this way, I thought I'd never get all that stuff out through those little holes in his conformer. Sorry people, this is my new reality, so I'm sharing it with all of you. You're welcome. I'm hoping it will be easier to clean with an eye that comes out as opposed to a conformer that doesn't (or at least, it shouldn't). 


I can't wait to see what Tate looks like with two eyes that look the same. That's something he's never had. I hear a lot from people who have prosthetic eyes, or who have kids that do, that no one can tell. But I know his eye won't move the same as his real eye, and it may have a different look to it, but I know that however it turns out, it'll be so much better than what he had before! 


I want to thank all of you again for all the support and prayers we've received throughout Tate's journey. It means more to us than you'll ever realize. Hopefully we are towards the end of the dramatic portion of this journey, but of course, I'll keep you updated on him. Maybe I'll even blog about something else someday. Anyone want to see the letter I sent to Sprint's CEO? It prompted a call-back from the executive office.... 

one month post-op (with lots of photos, so i don't bore you to death)

It's been a month and 2 days since Tate's surgery... it feels like it's been years. It's so fantastic to be at peace. Even better - that Tate is at peace. He has been making no effort to wear a patch or bandage. He just wears his glasses every day. He isn't self-conscious (bonus of having this done at 4 years old!) and he doesn't seem to think about it anymore at all. He has said that his eye never hurts anymore, and even though I've heard that a hundred times now, it still brings tears to my eyes. When we made the decision in November to have this surgery done, we thought we'd never really know if it was the right thing to do... that we'd never know if we could have or should have waited... but God made it clear in the last few weeks before surgery that Tate couldn't wait. Even then, it was a gut-wrenching decision. But not anymore. Those feelings of anxiety are all gone. We have complete peace. And let me tell you, that is a great feeling. God is good!

We are starting another countdown. Tate will have his prosthetic eye made on February 25th. Only 10 more days! We see his surgeon on the 22nd for a followup from the surgery. We are praying for a good report, that everything is healing well (as it seems to be), so we can go on with the appointment with the ocularist on the 25th. It will be a long day next Friday... it'll take something like 8 hours from start to finish. But he will have his eye by the time we leave that day! I am hoping to take my camera and document the day... I need to call and make sure it's ok. 

I can't wait to see what my kiddo looks like afterward! I'm sure he'll be just as handsome as ever. :) I have perused the internet and youtube, looking for photos and videos of people with prosthetic eyes. I think it typically is a bit obvious (although that might be because I'm looking for it), but I figured that even if they don't look identical, or if you can tell that there's something "off" about his eye, it'll still look better than his real eye ever did! 

Tate, on the other hand, isn't so excited about it. He is very nervous about the whole idea of having an eye that we'll have to take out sometimes to clean. His conformer doesn't come out, and he's happy with that. He isn't concerned at all about having 2 eyes that look alike, so that doesn't increase his interest in getting his new eye. I really need him to be ok with getting his new eye made. He has to be still for THREE MINUTES for the mold to set in his eye socket. That means no flinching, squinting, anything.... they have to get a good impression of the eye socket to be able to do a good job making his eye. I honestly don't know if I could sit still for three whole minutes! Please pray that he will be relaxed and at ease for that important time during his appointment. 

We went to visit family in Kentucky this past weekend. We were there to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday! It was a fun and much-needed trip. I snuck out one morning to take some photos of the boys out by a barn. With the exception of my little models being hounded by a neighbor dog (pun intended), it  was a fun quick session! Thought I'd share a few.... 

This handsome guy is my oldest, Jake. Sorry ladies, he's only 10! :) 

This is my super-sweet Noah, my middle kid.

Tate really is a little rock star. 

I ordered the boys some fedoras from Knuckleheads Clothing... Tate loved his, and wanted to show it off for some photos while his big brothers were doing homework this afternoon. 

Thanks for checking in on my little guy once again! We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers! 

~jenn

worth celebrating

Wow. Remember right after Tate's surgery when I said that I was happy that Tate would be pain-free, but I wasn't quite ready to celebrate the fact that he had to have his eye removed? How quickly things change. He is SO happy, the behavior issues he had before are at a minimum, and he is the sweetest thing in the world. Did I mention how happy he is? 

Now THAT'S worth celebrating.