11.29.12 Warming Up

Alyssa recently has started taking a liking to Zachary.  He has started interacting with her, ie. laughing at her and giving her lots of smiles.; and that is really making her happy. She has been asking to hold him and wants me to take a picture of her when she holds him.

11.27.12 Thumb Sucker

 

We got a Thumb Sucker.  He really doesn't like a Binky and we occasionally seem him sucking his thumb.

11.23.12 Black Friday Shopping

 

 

Grammy, Mommy and Aunt Jill like to go shopping on Black Friday every year.  Since, I fell asleep at 5:30pm on Thanksgiving, I decided since I was already awake at 4:30am, it was a good idea to go shopping with them.  I was so excited and ready to go!!  I did great for most of the morning.  But really started to get tired around 11am.  So, we went home.  It was a lot of fun doing some Christmas Shopping and hanging out with "the girls".  My favorite part was probably the donuts and juice at Fred Meyer.

11.22.12 Happy Thanksgiving

Gobble, Gobble. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I'm all dressed up and we are thankful for so much!

 

 

11.17.12 Sharing

Mommy is always telling me to stop taking Zachary's toys and that I need to share my toys with him.  So, I decided to share with him today.

 

 

11.6.12 Happy Birthday Grandpa Gary & Smiling

Happy Birthday Grandpa Gary!!

Zachary is smiling tons now!

 

11.3.12 Swimming

I am really starting to enjoy swimming.  I am crying less and am showing improvement.

 

 

 

 

11.7.12 Two Months Old

 

 

I can't believe it, Zachary is already 2 months old.

 

We had Zachary's 1 month Post Op appointment this week.  His eye is doing really well and there is no infection.  So, over the next two weeks we will be tailoring Zachary off his eye drops.

 

We received the Genetic test results and there is not a genetic defect!!! This is great news, because that rules out numerous other issues that could also occur.  So, we get to chock it up to another fluke thing.

11.2.12 Just a Cute Picture

10.31.12 Trick Or Treat

I was so excited to go trick-or-treating today. But, I was just as excited to hand out candy. I was so excited when the doorbell rang the first time that when I was running to the door,  I slid and fell on the kitchen floor.  But I was okay!  I was a Lady Bug, Mommy was a Butterfly, Zachary and Daddy were Pirates.

 

 

10.27.12 Pumpkin Carving

We carved and decorated our pumpkins today.  I painted Mine and Zachary's Pumpkins.

10.20.12 Swimming Lessons

Mommy and Daddy signed me up for swimming lessons.  I was very excited to go since I love to go swimming.  Even though Mommy and Daddy told me that they would not be going with me, I didn't believe them until they put me in the water and walked away.  I cried the entire lesson.

 

 

Uncle Dave and Grandpa came to watch my swim lesson.  Uncle Dave likes to call me his little Alien.

 

 

 

 

10.17.12 Yeehaw

I have been having fun playing with Grandpa Gary.  He enjoys being my horsey!!

10.17.12 One Month Check Up

We had Zachary's One month check up today, even though he is 6 weeks old. . . . but he weighed in at 12 pounds 3 ounces.  He has grown 2 inches too.

 

Zachary also had a surgery follow up appointment.  He no longer needs to wear his patch and the difficult to administer eye ointment!! However, we need to continue giving him drops until the next appointment.

10.8.12 Surgery

Today Zachary had his surgery.  After an hour examination of both eyes, the doctors were inconclusive of whether or not they could rule out cancer, so they wanted to do a CAT scan. And were able to do it immediately. They were unable to tell if the Mass in the back of his eye was a tumor or blood from a detached retina.  

After the CAT scan they were able to determine that it was not cancer!!!  The mass moved to support that it was blood. 

However, during the more thorough examination, they discovered that he has PHPV in his right eye as well.  However, it is not as severe and is in his peripheral vision.  The eye pressure has increased in his left eye indicating glaucoma has started to develop. So after all that, we opted to move forward with the surgery and try to remove the "plaque" from his left eye. 

Also they will be performing a lensectomy (removing his lens) which will release the pressure and pain in his eye.  After another 2 1/2 hours, the surgery was complete.  They were unable to remove any of the "plaque" and we were told by the Resident Doctor that it was the worst our doctor had ever seen.  We also had some blood work done to determine if there is a genetic defect since the PHPV was found in both eyes.  The results will take at least a month to come back.  Zachary did really well under anesthesia with no complications.  We stayed overnight for more observation but were released early the next day. 

We will be monitoring his right eye and see if any changes develop.  An eye test will be given to Zachary between 4 and 6 months to determine what his vision in his right eye is.  I am hoping that he is able to detect at least light and shadows in his "bad left" eye.

9.30.12 Second Opinion

To give us peace of mind we opted to get a second opinion.  We went to see another doctor who specializes in Children's Ophthalmologist in Kirkland. 

After his exam, he told us that he would be sending us to Children's because he felt that the mass in Zachary's eye was a tumor.  He thought that it was a cancer called Retinablastoma.  This is not the news we wanted to hear.  We asked that he contact Children's and speak with our first doctor.  
After both doctor's talked, Our Doctor at Children's said that he had a valid concern, however, she still felt that her diagnosis was valid because there are some key characteristics that do not support Retinablastoma.  The main one being Zachary's age.  However, she said that she would like to proceed with his surgery on Monday.  However, she has requested that her Chief Ophthalmologist and Retinablastoma specialist be in the operating room with her and do an examination with him prior to doing anything.  

If it is cancer, we do not want her to enter the eye because it is possible to have the cancer cells spread.  You want to keep it contained.  She said if they conclude it is cancer, we will have to schedule a CAT scan and spinal tap (to determine if cancer has spread) to determine what the treatment plan would be.

So, we need the prayers to continue and hope for the lesser of evils.

9.21.12 Children's Visit

We received some unfortunate news at Zachary's 1 week check up. His pediatrician was unable to get a red reflex in his left eye.

So, what does this mean???

We went to an Ophthalmologist at Children's and the doctor diagnosed him with PHPV(Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous).  Which is a birth defect of the eye. In a nut shell, his eye didn't fully develop correctly. He will essentially be blind in his left eye. He is able to see light and shadows, but there is a "plaque" filling his eye that is blocking his retina which is not allowing his eye to see.
We have scheduled surgery for October 8th to see if we are able to salvage any of his vision. They will go in and try and break up the plaque. At that point they will also be able to view the retina and retina vein to see how they are developed. With this condition, sometimes they do not fully develop or develop properly. Best case scenario we will gain some vision with the best being around 20/400. However, our doctor told us not to get our hopes up because it appears the plaque is filling up half of his eye. His left eye is also slightly smaller as a result of this condition.
Please keep us in your prayers and hope that the doctors are able to remove the plaque and the retina is in good condition and Zachary will have have some vision.
Everything thing appears completely normal in his right eye. So, we are very thankful that it is limited to one eye. We know that you are able to fully function with one eye, but we are hoping that he will be able to attain some vision in this left. We know things could be worse and we are hoping for the best. We will have to wait and see how his eye adjusts to limited or no vision in the future. Future surgeries may be in the horizon, we will need to wait and see.

9.16.12 Gaining Weight and Growing Strong

I had my two week weight check and gaining weight is not an issue.  I enjoy eating and am now 9lbs 6 oz.

9.12.12 One Week Old

I am one week old today and went to the doctor for my check up.  I have gained all my weight back and am now 8lbs 6 ozs.  The doctor noticed that I do not have a red reflex in my left eye.  She does not know what it means, but is recommending that I be seen by an Ophthalmologist.