Finally we have Pizza and the Doctor does a Home Visit

Today started out fairly uneventfully. Upon waking, Clepson had some eye pain and we dosed him up on his pain medicine and I gave him a bag of frozen corn to hold over his eye. This helped a great deal and by noon he was able to open his eye much wider and was feeling pretty comfortable. I decided to try switching him off the big pain drugs and onto Tylenol during the day. At noon I gave him some Tylenol and left him watching a "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie fest! I was getting a migraine, so I went upstairs to take a nap and left him with instructions to have Zoe come get me if he needed anything.

A couple hours later (sheesh, that was a serious nap, but headache is gone!) Zoe came up to get me. She said, Clepson wants you..... I came down expecting him to need some food, water, something minor.... and he said "it is coming out".... Yikes, the conformer (plastic shield over his new "eye ball" was sliding out of the bottom of his eye. I washed my hands and put some antibiotic ointment on it and tried to slide it back in.... NO LUCK. I called Dr. Ford and he gave me additional instructions and said to call him back if I couldn't get it in. NO LUCK. So, back on the phone with Dr. Ford who actually left his office early to get a smaller conformer at the Surgery Center and came over to put it in for us!

Dr. Ford pushed a bit harder than I had and was able to get the new conformer in Clepson's eye. This was, of course, a bit painful. Not five minutes after Dr. Ford left he called to make sure that Clepson was ok and apologised for hurting him. He is the kindest man and seemed genuinely disturbed that he had made Clepson cry. All I could think was WOW! To not only donate his skills for the surgery, but to actively care about his patients feelings is so rare and wonderful.

Dr. Ford and his wife are friends of mine. They are very good people who have suffered great difficulties in their own lives recently. For him to take time and make sure that Clepson has the very best care possible is wonderful to me.

Type A+

I have decided that I am not type A, I am type A+. While Clepson was in surgery I spent my time editing old photos like this....

I suffer from an excess of capability... I think I am can do anything. So when you need custom appliqued baby clothes, gardening, horse training, remodeling or a special Telly Tubbies blanket, I am your gal. As a realtor, I just look at all the options for spending money on technology that are available and think..."I can do that".

My latest project has been making individual web pages for my listings. I wanted to include a video tour of the properties. NOT JUST A SCRAPBOOK, but an actual video of the property. So here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-vFXgufzbA

My first video tour! I'll unveil my web page to you all and if you want to know how easy it is to do yourself, drop me an email and I'll share the info!

Lessons from the Hood by the Blonde Chick Zoe

Zoe has become a mentor to her little cousin Angeline. Angeline was one of the major inspirations behind the Medical Advocacy Team. She was our first Haitian Sensation and is simply fabulous. Angeline has spina bfida and has no movement from the knees down. She walks with a walker and does a wonderful job. She is so capable!

On Tuesday Sarah took the kids strawberry picking. When she pulled up at the strawberry farm there was a small boy playing in the dirt. He was throwing clouds of dirt in the air. His mother sat nearby holding a baby. Sarah ignored the boy (which shows unusual restraint on her part!) The little boy saw Angeline walking with her walker and went over to talk to her. Sarah didn't think much about it, since most kids have a curiosity for what they do not know. Angeline came over to Sarah upset.

She said "he says I can't walk! That boy says I can't walk!"

The mother just sat and said NOTHING.

Sarah told the boy, "She CAN walk, she just uses as walker".

The boy smarted back, "She CAN'T walk! She can't walk without her walker."

Still no reaction from the mother.

Sarah then said, " your mother wears glasses, does that mean she can't see?"

The mother sat and did NOTHING!

Angeline was upset all day. She may be three years old, but she totally got that her walker was a "bad" thing. She refused to use it and crawled around.

My Zoe stepped in and said, "Angeline, this is what you say to the mean boys....."

Hand held outstretched, palm up, head tilted, Zoe said, "Hey DUMB boy, don't talk to me!"

HAIR FLIP, HEAD TOSS, and a "HMPHH!"

Angeline LOVED it! She practiced the head toss, she practiced the hair flip (impressive even without the flowing blond locks) and even mastered a fairly good "hmphh".

Zoe spent an entire year at a new school where she felt continually bullied. We talked with her teacher, we talked with the principal, nothing was resolved. We gave the new school a good shot. We focused on how learning to get along with difficult people would get Zoe far in life in the future. We assured her that she would NOT have to return....I saw a lesson learned in action and was proud. My kids don't see differences, they see strengths. The have been raised with open eyes to all cultures, religions, races and differences in physical abilities. They do not turn and cringe or make fun of others. They are sensitive and strong. I have hope that they will not turn from the difficult situations in life, but will thrive.

P.S. Parents, PARENT your children... don't allow them to be rude, don't raise bigotry!

The Bandages are OFF

Clepson slept well last night and woke to some homemade biscuits. He spent all day resting on the couch watching videos with Noah and playing a driving video game. We went in to see Doctor Ford at 2:30 and Clepson was pretty scared by that point to see what his eye looked like. He was very stoic as Dr. Ford removed the bandage and poked and prodded at his sore eye. One big tear ran down his face and it just broke my heart to see him trying to show no fear or pain. Sherry (at Love a Child) says it is very important for Haitian culture that he not show fear or pain. It is hard to imagine that control on a boy so young. What has he seen, what has he endured prior to coming to the loving care at Love a Child?

Clepson struggled a bit this afternoon with not being able to feel if he was opening his eyelid. He felt much better after talking with Sherry and her convincing him that this was normal and would not stay like that. Hopefully he will begin to regain some of his humor and high spirits. No pizza tonight, not quite ready for that yet, but he did manage to down a HUGE vanilla ice cream cone form Dairy Queen.

Eye Implants

Eye implants have come a LOOONG way since the day of the "glass eye". When Clepson woke up from his surgery he thought he would have a brand new eye that looked just like his other eye. EVENTUALLY he will (with a bit of luck and much hard work on some great doctor's and oculists part!)

During his surgery yesterday, Clepson had his damaged and painful eye removed. The ligaments and muscles controlling the eye were then attached to an orbital implant. The orbital implant looks like this:

Clepson's own tissue covers the implant completely. His eye is very swollen at this point and he has a conformer covering the visible portion of his new "eyeball" so that there will be room to put the prosthetic eye piece in. The next step (after healing a bit) requires a trip down to a wonderful and talented oculist who has donated a custom eye for Clepson. Clepson will first be fitted with a custom conformer (which will be more comfortable than the one he has in now).

The oculist will then get busy making a prosthesis for Clepson that will match his "good" eye. The prosthetic eye should look like a real eye and will move with his muscles that are attached to the implant. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me! The link below is to the great oculists who are donating their talents to making Clepson's new eye.

http://www.ericksonlabs.com/artificial-eye-process.html

OUCH!

This is a photo of a sleepy Clepson putting his shoes on in preparation for leaving for the Surgery Center. I ended up letting Clepson sleep until about 8:00 this morning, so that he wouldn't have much time to think about what was coming and also wouldn't have time to get too hungry!

Clepson was quiet and brave on the ride to the Surgery Center. He was brave when the nurses took him back to change into a gown and get his IV. I was SO proud of him.

I told Clepson the story of a much younger Noah running from us down the halls of the hospital because he was afraid to have a blood test. Clepson found that very funny and it lightened his mood a bit. The staff and doctors at the Surgery Center were great. They treated Clepson like he was a prince and were very supportive and reassuring.

The reporter from the Bellingham Herald was the same reporter who did the super story about the Medical Advocacy Team last summer. The photographer clicked photos as Clepson was hauled into the surgery room.

Then the waiting began....... 75 minutes into the surgery, the coordinator came out. She was very quick to say that Clepson was doing well and that Dr. Ford wanted me to know it would be about another 1/2 hour.

As soon as Clepson was in recovery they came and got me. I sat with Clepson as he woke up and he was VERY frustrated about the bandages on his eye. He was desperate to see what his "new" eye looked like. The pressure bandage puts a good deal of pressure on the orbital implant which keeps it in and stops the bleeding. Dr. Ford and I convinced Clepson that it would be best to leave the bandage on and it will come off in our post op visit tomorrow.

Clepson had no nausea and ate his crackers and cola. He dozed on and off due to the large dose of pain medicine they gave him in his IV. After a couple hours they pulled the IV and let us leave. Clepson was desparate to see Noah and asked if we could go up to Sarah's house. I told him he would just be sitting on the couch and he was fine with that. I suspect he wanted the "guys" to see his dramatic bandages.

by the way Sherry, this sad look is for you! Clepson wants you to know how brave he is being!

We are home now and watching "So you think you can dance". Clepson has had a big dose of pain meds and is resting on the couch. Clepson gets to sleep on the couch tonight with pillows bolstering his head. The airplane pillow I have will stay behind his neck and help keep his head upright. This should lessen the amount of swelling he gets.

Clepson needs to spend the next two weeks at rest. We have waived all TV rules and he gets unlimited TV time, for which my children are eternally grateful!

Thank all of you for your well wishes and prayers. Clepson is relieved to have the worst of his trip behind him. I have promised pizza for dinner tomorrow night if his tummy stays well.

The Night Before Surgery

Tonight is Clepson's last sleep with his "old" eye. He is quite worried about his surgery, but trying to act like a little man. Clepson had a fun filled day over at my sister Sarah's house. Her house is loud, bright and often silly. Clepson spent hours playing in the pool, riding bikes and watching movies. We had cake and ice cream for Noah's birthday and Clepson was excited to watch Noah open his presents.

At one point Sarah showed Clepson her son Isaac's photo. Clepson told her how to say Isaac in Creole and asked why he was still in Haiti.... That is the million dollar question. Why is Isaac in Haiti almost 3 years after his adoption proceedings began. Why does his file sit in MOI while he languishes in an orphanage without the love of his waiting family. The longer he lives in the orphanage the greater his new family's work will be. Attachment issues, behavior issues, the list grows longer by the day and don't forget the health issues. A waiting baby died just weeks ago from Meningitis in Isaac's orphanage.

I joked with Clepson that Issac only got lambouie (spelling) three times a day at his orphange, not like Love a Child. Clepson had quite a bit to say about how proud he is of his home at Love a Child.

Sherry, this boy knows he has been chosen to be at Love a Child for a reason and sees the value of the work you do. Clepson appreciates the gift of education and health living at the Love a Child orphanage has given him.

Clepson went on to explain that many of the orphanages are fed with food from Feed My Starving Children that is distributed from Love a Child.

We ended the night at Sarah's with all of her children wishing Clepson well in his surgery and saying they would be praying for him, and they will be! With all the prayers floating around for Clepson tomorrow, I know he will do well in surgery.

Clepson is currently showering and will do so again in the morning prior to going to the surgery center. They asked this to help reduce his chances of getting an infection. MRSA is fairly common at most surgical centers and hospitals, so we will try to NOT develop a superbug!

Clepson will have another snack before bed as he is allowed nothing after midnight tonight. We are to arrive at the surgical center at 9:00 and Clepson will go into surgery at 10:00. There will be some consultations with the anesthesiologist and doctors. The surgery is 90 minutes or so and then we will have a bit of time in post op until Clepson feels good enough to walk. I am not sure if we will just come home or go to Sarah's to get Noah and Zoe. Terry will be in Seattle tomorrow working and Sarah has doctors appointments in Seattle with Bean and has to pick up our Mom and niece Libby at the airport. In all likelihood they will be back to Sarah's before we leave the hospital.

I will pass on any well wishes posted to Clepson directly!