Surgery is over

It was a grueling day. We arrived about 45 minutes early and were told that the patient that was supposed to go ahead of us was a no-show, so we could be bumped up. We thought that meant we'd get out of there even faster. Well, that was not meant to be. First, the surgeon couldn't get there until noon at the earliest, so we couldn't start too much earlier. Secondly, Hannah fought the anesthesia (again!) so after a million arguments and tears she ended up having to have an injection of versed instead of just drinking it. I got to wear the full Elvis surgeon jumpsuit and take her back to the OR, I think she was pretty mad at me most of the way there.

Hannah before the fight to drink her medicine

The surgery took much longer than expected, almost an hour longer. We're still not really sure why. The good news is that they were able to get the lens in her eye without using stitches (which apparently is a big deal). She only has one stitch which is where they made the incision to put the lens in. That stitch may never have to be removed, so we may be done with all this anesthesia stuff for good!

The bad news about Hannah having to get the injection is that it took MUCH longer for her to come out of anesthesia. We were allowed back into the recovery room at 2:30, and she didn't really wake up until 4:30. The good news about the injection is that the added medication meant that she woke up very peacefully. No thrashing, screaming or fighting. Just some irritation that she had the pulse ox, EKG leads, IV and shield and gauze on her eye. She had some apple juice, a Popsicle and graham crackers and we were on the way home.

It took us 2 hours to get home...nothing like rush hour traffic on a Friday :-(

Once we got home we had some Panera, went to bed, and got up at 6:30 to go downtown to get the gauze removed and have her eye checked.

Hannah in great spirits on the way to have the shield and gauze taken off

The doctor said all looks well, she has 90% vision in that eye. She has some astigmatism which will most likely have to be corrected with glasses. No biggie.

Now on to fight the insurance company!

2 more days??

Well, we are hoping that in 2 days Hannah will have had surgery and this will all be behind us.
Monday morning I woke up with a 'don't get on the plane' feeling about the surgery that stuck with me all day. Now I know why. Tuesday morning greeted me with a phone call from UIC stating that Cigna had denied coverage for the surgery. A billion phone calls and one super secret authorization code later, I thought all was fine. Nope. This morning, another call from UIC. The authorization will not cover anything but doctors visits, therefore the hospital and the surgery in it are not covered. We were specifically told, when we applied for the Continuance of Care, that ANYTHING the doctor authorized would be covered, including surgery. So, a barrage of phone calls has been made, Stan has called his HR people and I wait. I wait with eyes swollen from crying and a stomach full of knots wondering if this is going to be covered. Wondering if we're gonna bite the bullet and pay the out of network costs, or tell an 8 year old who just wants to see normally again that she has to wait.
I hate insurance.

Countdown to surgery

7 more days until Hannah has her lens implantation surgery. I can't believe we've been going through this for 6 months. Since May 11th, Mothers' Day, to be exact. If I sit down and really wallow in it - it sucks. It's not fair. I'm angry. I feel betrayed. I try to be a good person/mom/wife, follow all the rules, do as I'm told and this still happens.
Then I have to stop myself and remind myself how blessed and truly lucky I am. I have three beautiful, healthy (except for that eye thing!) children that were brought into this world against all odds. Even when they made it to being born, the odds were still about 10% that they wouldn't survive and 30% that there would be something 'wrong' with them. All three of them beat those odds.
I am blessed, too, that I have such a wonderful group of friends who rallied around me when Hannah got hurt. They will never know how deeply touched and awed I still am by all they did for me. I am a giver, and it is almost impossible for me to take. They knew this, and they made me take anyway.
Yep, life isn't fair. Things happen. I guess I am slowly learning that things can happen for no reason at all and it's what you do with the results of that happening that count. Right now I'm counting my blessings and counting down the days until another chapter in this story is finished.

WE HAVE A SURGERY DATE!!

And, equally as important, WE HAVE INSURANCE APPROVAL!! Whoooooo hooooooo! November 14th is the big day...please keep us all in your prayers!

THIS is why I have headaches!!

So, after 2 days of calling the surgeon, I was informed today that he is ON VACATION THIS WEEK!!! Something they could have just told me YESTERDAY!! I am so mad I could (and did) cry! Now on to the appeal process with Cigna to see if we can get the procedure covered after October 1st. Thanks to everyone for all the good thoughts...save 'em until further notice!

More surgery...

Yep. More surgery for Hannah. Hopefully she will have a lens inserted on Friday that will permanently replace the lens that had to be removed due to the cataract. We tried to use a contact lens to correct her vision, but she was, let us say, not receptive. We've been trying for almost a month to get her to do it, but she just can't/won't. The surgery is a last resort, but should restore her vision to a 'normal' level. Why the rush to have the surgery you ask? The hospital where her procedures are performed will no longer be participating in our insurance network as of October 1st. We've applied for an extension, but if we can just get it done before the cutoff we'll be in that much better shape.
So, once again, we'll be off early Friday morning and home that afternoon. Hopefully this will be the last of the surgeries.

Another Hannah update...and iPhone news!

Hannah had another exam under anesthesia on Friday. I was all ready - even had gotten a prescription for some Valium for her so she would be calm when we went into the procedure room. Well, so much for planning ahead. I gave her the Valium at 6, since her appointment was scheduled for 8. Plenty of time to 'get happy' and still be happy! Wrong! They were running 2 1/2 hours behind schedule. By the time it was time for the procedure the Valium had totally worn off (it was only 2mg). The upside was that we had WONDERFUL anesthesiologists this time. They were patient and even gave Hannah's baby a mask to wear. The transition to the mask was much smoother this time. They also gave her something so when she came out of it she was a bit less combative - still definitely angry and combative, but not for as long.
Results - all stitches are out, we 'graduated' from the trauma surgeon and are moving on to the lens doctor. We will also be going to the pediatric ophthalmologist to have her vision evaluated soon...we know she can see, we just don't know what the 'measurements' of the distortion are yet.
I have been thinking a lot about this injury. I am hopeful that things will be as close to normal as school approaches (and it's on it's way soon). I hate that my little girl has become so introverted and shy...mostly because the light irritates her eyes. I miss her being happy and carefree.
Now, for something completely different, after much careful research and whining on my part, Stan let me order the new iPhone 3G. When it became apparent that I was going to lust after every iPhone I saw, and that he could get away with an anniversary/birthday gift all in one, AND our cell phone bill would only go up $5 a month, he relented. I have been waiting with baited breath for it to ship since last Sunday, and, this morning, it has shipped and should be at the store tomorrow after 3pm! I can't wait!

Today's exam

Well, this was the most taxing procedure to date for mom! I had to walk Hannah down to the exam room and hold her down while they got the mask on her and she was NOT happy about it. I am sure that later in life she'll be telling her therapist that I restrained her and let them gas her. This mommy stuff is hard! Then, upon waking she was the most agitated she has been...I don't know if it was because she only received the gas portion of the sedation (no IV this time) or what, but when she woke up she was MAD. She was screaming that her eyes were stinging and she wanted to be home on her own couch. They got us out of there without her even having to drink anything. Usually we have to wait until she's had a Popsicle or something, but I think her screaming was on everyone's nerves.
The GOOD portion of the day -- her eye continues to look wonderful. Today they took out 6 of the 9 stitches (which means we're going to have at least one more of these!). The trauma surgeon said that he could have taken all 9 out, but they like to leave a few in a bit longer to establish that it is truly healed and that they haven't missed anything. Her retina looks good, as it has since the accident. The capsule where her lens was removed is still well formed and complete, meaning that when she is older they'll be able to slip in a lens with no stitches. That is a really big deal. Here's a neat fact...most of us wear sunglasses to protect our eyes from UV rays...Hannah's artificial lens will have the UV protection built in!
Thanks for all your prayers!

A huge miracle!!

We went for another check today at UIC and HANNAH CAN SEE!! She saw when the doctor put fingers in front of her eye - a HUGE improvement from before when she couldn't see anything but shapes! Needless to say, we are all elated.
We also got lots and lots of good news regarding summer! The doctor sees no reason why Hannah can't swim (yeah!) after next week's appointment and also gave us the green light for our vacation at the end of June and Great America later in summer! The best appointment yet!!
So, thank everyone for their prayers - they certainly worked!! Better than I ever expected they would! I ask that you all keep some very special people in your prayers...there is a little girl in Hannah's class that is having tonsil/adenoid surgery soon, a little boy in my triplet group with leukemia, a little girl in my triplet group that is also having tonsil/adenoid surgery, mom in my triplet group who's husband is gravely ill, and my college roommate's husband who was in a bad car accident and is now blind and in rehab for lots of orthopedic issues. If your prayers did wonders for us, imagine how much more you can all do!
p.s. a special thanks again to all my bunco ladies and triplet moms...you have no idea how much you have touched me and I hope that someday I will be able to give back!

It's over...and we're pooped!

The operation went swimmingly. Her lens was removed, along with the cataract. What does this mean? Well, for now, she isn't going to be able to see much of anything except light and shadow. Since your lens focuses the light on your retina, missing a lens means there is no focus. For now. The prognosis is good for her to be first fitted with a contact and then an intra-ocular lens that is permanent. We have to wait until the trauma stitches heal and she gets a bit bigger for the permanent lens, but it's all good news.
We're all very tired from our early morning Chicago excursion, and have to return tomorrow at 8am! Don't doctors ever sleep???
A giant thank you to my bunco moms who are taking care of dinners this weekend! I couldn't do this without you!

Today is the big day

We have to be downtown at 5:30, hence the insane hour of this post. Please say a prayer that the surgeons are guided by God's hand and that Hannah has an easy recovery. I will try to keep everyone updated as soon as possible as to the outcome.