She did it!

There is a new eye in there.  Can you see it?

We asked her earlier this week, "What would make it easier at the ocularist?''  The key to it was a lollipop.  When she informed us of that, my initial response was no.  Luckily I had some intelligent people point out to me that it is a only a lollipop.  After all she has been through, doesn't she deserve a lollipop?  Or thousands of lollipops?  Well, today she had her lollipop, out came the conformer - no problem, and shortly thereafter in went the prosthesis - no problem.  She looked in the mirror for a long time.  We talked with the ocularist for a quite awhile before Anya finally learned that there was to be no more touching of her eye.  You could almost see the relief flood into her body, and her smile absolutely shone.

In the car, not more than ten minutes later came the question that broke just a little piece of my heart:  "I don't get it, why does Walter's eye open like normal and mine doesn't?"  (Walter is the ocularist who has a prosthetic eye himself).  We explained more about the other complications going on since her surgery and told her that someday her eye will open just like Walter's.  She was okay with that.

Tonight at dinner came the next heartbreaking question:  "Do I have to go under anesthesia again?  I hate going under anesthesia."  That led to a good conversation about her short term medical future.  For a five-year-old, she understands a lot more than you might think.  More, I believe, than many adults might understand.  I told her that we could not promise that she would never go under anesthesia again, but that right now it looks like it will be a lot less than in both 2010 and 2011.

May that please be true.  And whether or not it is, we will probably have a lot more lollipops in 2012.