August 26th, 2007

Kinnick had her second vitrectomy surgery on Friday morning for her left eye. It was not good. The retina had completly detached. They had to remove the lens and part of the iris. We will likey be here 2 more weeks.

Since they had to remove the lens from Kinnick's left eye, she will be fitted for a contact lens within a couple of months, in order to try to get the contact lens to perform the functions that her eye's lens would have performed. Hopefully the brain will then try to use both eyes, instead of only working with the better eye. The contact will be larger than the ones that adults wear. Because part of the iris was removed, her eyes will be different colors. The contact lens will be colored though, so this shouldn't be noticeable when the lens is in. I heard that contacts work okay on babies (she'll likely get the kind that you leave in for a week.) Apparently once the babies are used to them, they even get upset when the contacts are taken out, since they can't see as well then. If Kinnick doesn't like the contact lens, glasses would be another option.

After her surgery, it would have been best if Kinnick could have been face down for the first 24 hours, so that any blood would come forward, lessening the risk of scar tissue. Unfortunately, since Kinnick was on CPAP, that wasn't possible. Hopefully that won't end up affecting the success of the surgery.

They won't really know for 6 months or so how well all of the eyes are doing. However, since Carver's eye surgeries, he seems to be looking everywhere and checking out everything, which is obviously a great sign!

The babies will be 5 months old on Wednesday! Carver currently weighs 8 lb. 15 oz. and Kinnick weighs 10 lb. 2 oz.

The babies' bones are still fragile and they have multiple fractures that are healing. Kinnick's humerus (big arm bone up by her shoulder) has a fracture, and she also has fractures in her hips and ribs. Carver doesn't have as many fractures, probably since he has been on better nutrition longer.

For the most part, Carver is acting like a normal baby, although I can tell that he isn't hearing. Carver should be ready to go home soon! I am definitely ready for him to get out of the hospital and feel comfortable that I can handle his needs.

Kinnick won't be ready quite as soon. Kinnick hasn't had any more apnea spells since last Thursday, but she still gets worked up and when she gets mad, she decides to hold her breath. Kinnick will also need to get back to bottle feeding, after she gets off CPAP and back on nasal canula full time. Kinnick has had several good days in a row, which is especially impressive since she just had surgery on Friday.

At the hospital in Detroit, they have a family room outside of the NICU, which provides a lot more opportunities to visit with other parents of preemies. (Wesley doesn't have this.) This has been a rewarding experience. I have been able to listen to what other preemies and parents have gone through and we've all been able to compare notes regarding how different hospitals handle various items. I am also able to share experiences that me and the babies have been through, which has provided a great deal of support and encouragement to other parents.

I'm glad we made the trip to Detroit, for the sake of the babies' eyes, but can't wait to get back to Wichita. Hopefully that will occur sometime in the next week and a half.