Really, we've gone through the journey and a month or so after the operation felt we were out the other end of the main ordeal of it all. I feel that we now know Kate is, well, seems to us and medically to be completely ok and all the post-op appointments have instilled this belief for me.
But, it's not something that you can completely forget about. For those of you who are going or are on the journey, then yes, after the initial recovery period, you can (kind of) forget about it. If your op goes/has gone well and post op appointments and follow ups show no signs of problems.
The continuing appointments after are because they're just being cautious, in my opinion.
Obviously, eye-testing a baby or 18 month old isn't easy, and I can tell you it still isn't at three and a half! The last appointment was a few weeks back and we weren't sure if she really couldn't see with one eye or was 'playing games' with us. She was messing about a bit. Our next appointment is in September and she'll be almost 4 by then, so hopefully she'll play game. Until now, all the eye appointments haven't showed any issues and the consultant was pretty sure if there was going to be a problem, it would have been detected by now.
Day to day, after the op, as things got back to normal I've stopped 'thinking' about it and the times I do think about it obviously have become less and less. As our eye hospital appointments have got further apart it becomes less of a 'thing' in my mind too. But, the scar is a constant reminder. Sometimes when I tie her hair up I really notice it. Sometimes when I don't tie her hair up and the wind blows it a certain way, it parts at the scar, revealing it.
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| Post-op - scar 2014 (looks the same now really) |
I'm not sure how much other people notice it, but I do. I also notice the slight skew in her face and difference in eye-sockets still, especially in some photos and in the mirror, but 'us humans' don't have symmetrical faces I really don't think other people do.
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| Photo pre-op when she was about 13 months |
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| Recent photo from 2015 |
I remember how we warned people about the scar, that she would have a bit of hair missing right over her head and possibly be able to see the scab/scar and stitches after the operation. But actually that was so thin post-op that most people didn't notice it at all, as it was hidden by her hair and especially as the swelling and bruised eyes were so bad- THAT is what everyone noticed and couldn't help commenting on!
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| Post-op scar & stitches 2013 |
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| Post-op swelling & bruising 2013 |
Anyway, the point of the up-date is to just let you know what a gorgeous, happy girl Kate is and that everything is good and she is a wonderful, cheery and bright three year old. If you're going through this and want to know anything, then please feel free to contact me to ask any kinds of questions.
Kate's 2 year post-op appointment at Great Ormond Street isn't actually until August 2015, so I'll post again then.
This is us today... we had a lovely day at singing class and met with friends for lunch and a play-date before collecting her big sister from school. I checked with her before bed and she remembers nothing of the operation or the swollen eyes or anything at all.
