2yo Teagan's Double Eye Surgery
Donation protected
In December, 2013, our perfect little girl entered the world, bright-eyed and curious. Ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes. Instantly, she was the center of our universe. Since that moment, our lives have been devoted to keeping her safe, and giving her the best life we can give.
In January, 2015, just after her first birthday, she was walking and talking, and everything was progressing just as it should. She bumped into things a lot, but we didn't think much of it. She was just learning to walk and run, after all.
Soon after, we noticed her right eye would occasionally turn in. Not all the time, and mostly when she was tired. We discussed it with her pediatrician, and he said her eyes were still developing, and we would pay attention to any changes. As time progressed, it got steadily worse, so he recommended an eye doctor who specialized in young children. We made an appointment and hoped for the best.
The first visit was excruciating. First, we had to put drops in, to dilate her eyes. She didn't understand what was going on, and when we held her down, she screamed, "It's Teagie!" As though she thought we didn't recognize, and we're attacking her. My heart broke.
After she calmed down, the doctor came in, and was absolutely amazing. She truly has a gift for dealing with toddlers. Then she told us that Teagan was severely nearsighted, and almost completely blind in her left eye. We were crushed. She made up a set of lenses, so my wife and I could see what she sees, and it was terrifying. She said there was hope, but it was going to take work. We had to patch her good eye for four hours every day, and she would need glasses. We knew it was bad when the man at the optics center saw her prescription, and said, "Wow." The patching was horrible at first. She didn't understand why Mommy and Daddy were blinding her, but over time, it got a little easier.
A few weeks later, her glasses came in, and the difference was instant. Luckily, she had worn sunglasses since she was six months old, so getting her to wear them wasn't too hard. The second she put them on, she saw herself in the mirror, and said "Hey!" as if it were the first time she'd ever seen herself clearly. We took her outside and she just ran around, looking at EVERYTHING. We were overjoyed. She wasn't bumping into things anymore. She was so much more active and steady.
We continued with the patching, and hoped for the best. At the next visit, the doctor said her vision in the bad eye had tripled, but the glasses weren't doing as much for the alignment as she had hoped, and said she may need surgery. We were mortified. No one wants to hear the word surgery, especially when it involves your baby's eyes. She said that we would need to patch her bad eye, every waking hour, until the next visit. We did, but it didn't do as much as we had hoped. She said surgery was a certainty.
She explained that they were going to have to make small incisions in the whites of her eyes, go all the way through, and detach some of the nerves on the back of both eyes, move them a few millimeters to the inside, and reattach. It will require two anesthesiologists. One to watch monitors, and one to watch Teagan. And they don't do the surgery on site, so there will be "facility fees" for using a hospital operating room. This is all going to be very expensive, and though I have very good insurance through work, there are up front fees that we just can't afford. We've already maxed credit cards, and borrowed against my car, and sold everything we had of value. I work every bit of overtime I can get, but it's just not enough. We've already had to reschedule the surgery once, and in the time since, her eyes have gotten worse.
We just want our baby girl fixed. The thought that there's a way to make her better, we just can't afford it, keeps us up at night. I've never cried this much in my life. Every time I look into her little eyes, I think of the headaches, and the teasing she'll have to endure, and it kills me. Some friends and family recommended we try this, and right now, it's our only hope. On everything that is precious to us in this world, every single penny will go towards Teagan, and making her better. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
In January, 2015, just after her first birthday, she was walking and talking, and everything was progressing just as it should. She bumped into things a lot, but we didn't think much of it. She was just learning to walk and run, after all.
Soon after, we noticed her right eye would occasionally turn in. Not all the time, and mostly when she was tired. We discussed it with her pediatrician, and he said her eyes were still developing, and we would pay attention to any changes. As time progressed, it got steadily worse, so he recommended an eye doctor who specialized in young children. We made an appointment and hoped for the best.
The first visit was excruciating. First, we had to put drops in, to dilate her eyes. She didn't understand what was going on, and when we held her down, she screamed, "It's Teagie!" As though she thought we didn't recognize, and we're attacking her. My heart broke.
After she calmed down, the doctor came in, and was absolutely amazing. She truly has a gift for dealing with toddlers. Then she told us that Teagan was severely nearsighted, and almost completely blind in her left eye. We were crushed. She made up a set of lenses, so my wife and I could see what she sees, and it was terrifying. She said there was hope, but it was going to take work. We had to patch her good eye for four hours every day, and she would need glasses. We knew it was bad when the man at the optics center saw her prescription, and said, "Wow." The patching was horrible at first. She didn't understand why Mommy and Daddy were blinding her, but over time, it got a little easier.
A few weeks later, her glasses came in, and the difference was instant. Luckily, she had worn sunglasses since she was six months old, so getting her to wear them wasn't too hard. The second she put them on, she saw herself in the mirror, and said "Hey!" as if it were the first time she'd ever seen herself clearly. We took her outside and she just ran around, looking at EVERYTHING. We were overjoyed. She wasn't bumping into things anymore. She was so much more active and steady.
We continued with the patching, and hoped for the best. At the next visit, the doctor said her vision in the bad eye had tripled, but the glasses weren't doing as much for the alignment as she had hoped, and said she may need surgery. We were mortified. No one wants to hear the word surgery, especially when it involves your baby's eyes. She said that we would need to patch her bad eye, every waking hour, until the next visit. We did, but it didn't do as much as we had hoped. She said surgery was a certainty.
She explained that they were going to have to make small incisions in the whites of her eyes, go all the way through, and detach some of the nerves on the back of both eyes, move them a few millimeters to the inside, and reattach. It will require two anesthesiologists. One to watch monitors, and one to watch Teagan. And they don't do the surgery on site, so there will be "facility fees" for using a hospital operating room. This is all going to be very expensive, and though I have very good insurance through work, there are up front fees that we just can't afford. We've already maxed credit cards, and borrowed against my car, and sold everything we had of value. I work every bit of overtime I can get, but it's just not enough. We've already had to reschedule the surgery once, and in the time since, her eyes have gotten worse.
We just want our baby girl fixed. The thought that there's a way to make her better, we just can't afford it, keeps us up at night. I've never cried this much in my life. Every time I look into her little eyes, I think of the headaches, and the teasing she'll have to endure, and it kills me. Some friends and family recommended we try this, and right now, it's our only hope. On everything that is precious to us in this world, every single penny will go towards Teagan, and making her better. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
Organizer
Bobby Carson
Organizer
Lenoir, NC
