Surgery

      Bryce is going to be having a minor surgery tomorrow, and this mama is a little nervous. The surgery itself is pretty minor, but it's the anesthesia that worries me.

      A year ago, when Bryce finally had gained some head control, we noticed he was often tipping his head to the right. We assumed it might be torticollis, and contacted his physical therapist. She started treating it as torticollis, but soon noticed it didn't present as a normal torticollis. He had full range of motion in his neck and back, and any tightness seemed to be a result of the tipping, rather than tipping as a result of tightness, like in  torticollis. Within a few months, his PT suggested the tipping may be related to something ocular....so off to the opthamologist we went! The doctor agreed that it probably was ocular, but it took about four trips to see him before we were finally able to narrow down exactly what was happening.

     Bryce has most likely been tipping his head in order to see straight. He has a slight misalignment in his left eye, so he probably sees a little double when holding his head straight. The smart little bugger figured out how to see clearly by tipping his head, and he has actually saved his own vision in doing so :) If he was always seeing double, he mostly likely would have overcompensated with his other eye. Luckily, he still has perfect vision.

    Tomorrow during his surgery, the doctor will shorten one muscle in his left eye so it will match it's "pair", and therefore fix the misalignment. Hopefully he'll soon discover that he no longer has to tip his head in order to see clearly. I'd love to have a picture of that boy with his head straight!

   His doctor is apparently one of the best pediatric opthamologists around and the surgery will take place at Children's Hospital of MN, so he will be in good hands. If all goes as planned, he should only be under anesthesia for about 30 minutes. It will be hard to see that little babe in a hospital bed, getting put under. Hopefully the half hour will go quickly and he won't have any ill effects afterwards.

    He is such a trooper and recovery isn't supposed to be a big deal, so I'm sure he'll be fine. If you find yourself looking at the clock tomorrow around 11:30, think of Bryce and send a little positive vibe our way. Hopefully next time I write, I'll have a picture of a little babe with a STRAIGHT head!

  Take care and stay warm! xoxo