I chose this first picture because as I was going through the hospital pictures you can actually kind of see what Braxton's eyes are doing...maybe. He had what was called Exotropia. His left eye turned out slightly. James noticed this when Braxton was little and we went to a local eye doctor two years ago who told us it was probably nothing. We went back to him a year later and he told us the same thing. When I took Braxton in for his three year well check my doctor said he was sending me straight to Primary's. He told us if they said there was nothing wrong then we would at least be at peace with it all. Within two months, Braxton was in for surgery, August 26th.
Primary Children's is an amazing place. I don't mean this in a bad way, but I did feel like a heard of cattle. We went in the same circles with a lot of the same parents. They took extremely good care of us and were very good to explain everything they would be doing.
Here is Braxton right before surgery. Yes! Those are Teletubbies. He LOVES these little people. I could do without the responsibility of keeping track of 4 small creatures all the time. I talked him down to one and his blanket for surgery. He is such a little trooper and good sport about everything.
Here is Braxton a couple days after surgery. He wouldn't open it before then. They say it feels like they have sand or dirt in their eye because of the stitches. We tried to get him to watch the movie Cars with us the first night, but he just layed in our laps and listened. The next morning I turned on cartoons for him to listen to and gave him his sunglasses in hopes he'd try to open his eyes. It was hilarious when he said, "Look mom, two bunnies." Then he looked at me and said, "Two mommies." The surgery over corrects the eye so that it will be straight when it heals and this is what caused the double vision. The redness is still there but very mild to this picture. Sorry if I grossed anyone out.
We had lots of visits from friends and family both before and after surgery. His friend, Samantha, brought him a little doctor set before surgery. Another one of Braxton's little friends, Kenzie, stopped in to see how Braxton was doing after surgery. She had made him a play dough cake in hopes that he would feel better soon. She is so thoughtful for a four year old.
About a week later, his eye was looking much better and he was ready to start preschool.
OCTOBER:
Our little family on the way to Primary's yet again...we thought we'd make and early foot follow up appointment for Braxton. We have met our deductible for insurance and were told almost a year ago that Braxton may need to have some of his toes straightened. This all has to do with his club foot stuff.
Good times in Dr. Stott's office. We're always finding creative things to count or play with and this time...we got into the gloves. Shhh...don't tell. Braxton LOVES playing with plastic gloves...so easy to please.
Dad and Braxton playing on the table. James was teaching him how to jump up on the table using the foot stool. Where to place his hands and use his weight as leverage to get him up. These two crack me up.
For those of you who haven't seen Braxton's baby pictures or have forgotten just how bad his feet were, this is a picture before we went to Primary's. He was about a month or so old here.
We had to cast both of Braxton's feet for a while before we could move onto the shoes and bar. He was my grouchy little guy the first 9 months of his sweet little life. He definitely tested our patience and taught me a lot. Now he's about the happiest kid I know. What an angel!
CONCLUSION:
Surgery again! Yep! We'll be going down November 4th for surgery to straighten 4 of his toes. This one should be a breeze compared to what we've been through with the eye surgery. They say he'll be walking by dinner. I'm so thankful for the good doctors that we live so close to. I am amazed at the technology and knowledge of the times we live in. We are truly blessed!
