Well we decided the beginning of the year was it, so we scheduled the surgery and started hunting for someone else that could watch the kids during the morning hours as Melanie is in school during the day. Melanie thankfully agreed to come over every day for the afternoons and evening until I get home from work. We joined Care.com and put an ad on there and got a lot of responses. We had a few people come over, but in the end we ended up getting one of Tony's co-worker's wives to come over. I don't get a chance to interact with her very much, but the kids seem to like her and she can tolerate Tony so -it works!
The day of the surgery, Tony & I drove up to St Barnabas Medical Center (north Jersey) in the rain. He seemed pretty calm, but I was really nervous. We arrived on time and after waiting for about 45 minutes, we were told that all of the physician's surgeries were on hold waiting for the actual corneas from the 'tissue bank' Ok, gross. So we waited and waited. If I recall correctly, his surgery was supposed to be around 11am, but he didn't even get taken in until 1pm. I was ok because there was a small cafeteria downstairs and was able to get some food, but Tony wasn't allowed to eat anything so it was like torture to him. I was given a number that represented Tony and where he was in the process - pre-op, surgery, post-op, etc. It was nice to have that information, but didn't want to think about it all too much because I'm really squeamish when it comes to eyes. A few hours later, I was called in - he was in recovery. He looked good minus the padded/bandaged right eye. They did at that time give him a little to eat and drink. I showed him the cards that the kids and I had made for him. They were cute. We used some of the stencils and traced some animals and bugs and added googly eyes. I think he liked them. Within about an hour, we were able to go so I went to the car and picked him up at the front door. He of course wanted something to eat so we stopped at a 'SmashBurger'.
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| Here's how close he would have to have his phone to read something (without contacts). |
I had taken the day of his surgery off and the rest of that week and the next one. He pretty much stayed in bed the rest of that day and had a follow up appointment at the doctor's office the next morning at like 9am. That was tough because it was about an hour and a half away, but we made it essentially on time. The doctor indicated that it looked good and gave some specific instructions on special eye drops and medication to take and to watch for certain symptoms. He wasn't going to be able to lift more than 10lbs for a little while. I had suggested that I take the kids to my parents house so he could be by himself to recover in peace. He had agreed and at first I thought I could drive overnight with the kids by myself, but after realizing that I wouldn't be able to even use a bathroom at a rest stop in the middle of the night without having to wake them up and bring them with me. Hmmmmm... it had to be re-thought! My mom graciously agreed to drive here, leave her car here in NJ and drive back in the van with me and the kids to her house 8 hours away in WNY! I packed up a bunch of their clothes and after my mom arrived, we packed up the car and we were on our way.
It was so nice to have my mom and dad help out with the kids. I actually got a chance to relax a little bit and actually enjoy being with them. We got into a great night time routine that we continue to use. It snowed pretty much every day and it was really cold so we pretty much stayed at the house. We did get out a few times and once was for haircuts. My mom had an appointment and her hairdresser heard the kids were in town and I've been wanting to get their hair cut so we loaded everyone up and drove to Lewiston to see Marcie. Tony and Olivia warmed up quickly and took their coats off. Amelia on the other hand did not. She wouldn't take her coat off the entire time we were there. So if you couldn't guess - she didn't get a hair cut. What really surprised me is Olivia's willingness to sit and have her hair cut. She was always the one that would barely let me comb her hair so the fact that she sat so nicely shocked the hell out of me and I love the way her hair turned out! Such a cute bob!
I'm really glad that the kids got to hang out with their other grandparents and got to also see their aunts and cousins. They learned how to play hide and seek - well sort of. They're good at hiding, but not staying hidden. They would hide (in the same spot each time) and then as soon as we tried to find them, they would come out and start laughing. It was hilarious to watch. Overall we had a really great time and I was sad to leave but I did bring my mom back with me for the next week to help out with the kids while I went back to work.
Update on the eye surgery: It's been almost 2 1/2 weeks since Tony's surgery and has been doing well. His surgeon has been pleased with the progress he's made and his restrictions have been lifted a tad. He's able to lift about 20 lbs now. He's still not able to lift any kids, but we'll get there. I think his vision is getting better - although the other day he said he had 'triple' vision..... I just got the humor in that right now although he was serious - not joking, but I guess that can be common with cornea transplants. Only time will tell.
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