Day +318....1st Eye Surgery :(

Hi everyone! It's time for our monthly update and this month has no shortage of challenges :) We went in this past Wednesday to get Dylan's eye pressure checked under anesthesia. We were hoping that the pressure in his eyes would be under control with his drops; unfortunately, this was not the case. A normal eye pressure should be around 25, and in past testings, Dylan's was in the high 20's with the drops. The drops SHOULD keep his pressure in the low 2o's. Well, this time, his pressure was pushing 35 in both eyes. When the doctor came out to the waiting room just 5 minutes after they put Dylan under anesthesia, I knew the news was not good. Because the drops could not keep the pressure at bay, they had to do a small surgery on his eye. With a laser, they made a small incision right where the cornea (white part) meets the iris (colored part). This incision is supposed to help relieve the pressure of the fluid in his eye. If the pressure does not get under control, then it will continue to cause damage to his optic nerve causing sight damage. They operated on his right eye first, because it has the most damage and will operate on his left eye in a few weeks.

When Dylan was being woken up from the anesthesia, he was VERY scared. I have walked into the O.R. many times after anesthesia, hearing the his cry, but this time it was different. I don't know what I was expecting to see, but I did not expect to see half of his face covered in tape with a huge metal patch over his eye. He was so scared. Normally, he eats right away (because he is starving), but this time he just kept screaming and crying. I can only imagine how he felt....so disoriented. All I could do was hold him tight and let him know that mommy was there. He cried so much that he passed out for a few minutes and was even snoring! Then, when he woke up again, the screaming commenced. That afternoon was very unproductive. I spent 7 hours cuddling with him on the couch. He finally ate, and then took his position back on my chest and nuzzled his face close. I think I saw his left eye open once, but that was it. He only wanted to sleep and cuddle and keep his eye closed. Poor kiddo. He has been through so much, and it is never easy seeing him in pain :( This time, I don't think it was pain as much as frustration and confusion because he didn't know what was going on. Thankfully, he was able to sleep almost through the night in his bed and gave me a little break :) At least when we go in to get his left eye done, I will be more prepared.

The next morning, Dylan was Dylan again. He adjusted to the patch and was hopping along the couch and being his usual playful self. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! We went in that morning and got the patch off, and some more drops to put in! YAY!! We love drops!! Ok, so we really actually dislike drops very much, especially when they have to be put in 4 TIMES A DAY! So in addition to his morning drops, and 2 sets of drops at night, we have two more sets of drops that have to be done 4 times a day at least an hour apart. So basically I am laying him down and prying his eye open every couple of hours :( He needs a medal of some sort...such a trooper!! We also ordered his glasses that day and they should be in this Friday! I am excited to try them out and praying that he will actually keep them on! This should be another fun battle. After the eye appointment, we headed to Mesa to see our beloved Dr. Graham! We love Dr. G! This was our first time not driving to Tucson to see him and we were very happy about that! It's still an hour away, but we will take that drive any day. ALL GOOD NEWS at Dr. G's office! YAY!! PRAISE GOD!! I did not know if I could handle any more bad news that week. His counts are perfect and Dr. G was very impressed with the progress Dylan has been making. All of the staff of the clinic had to come and see the 'Miracle Baby'. And it is so true--HE IS A MIRACLE!! The last time we saw the staff at that office was when we were headed down to Tucson for his transplant. They saw him when he was so little, and so sick. What a blessing Dylan is to the staff of a cancer clinic. God is using Dylan to be a light and support to those who see so many deaths and sadness.

As for progress, Dylan is growing by leaps and bounds. He is 15 months old and weighs 19lbs and is about 29 inches tall(he's our little shrimp:) He is crawling EVERYWHERE and prefers army style over normal, probably because we have a lot of tile. He is cruising along the furniture and loves to try to make his way around the room by reaching for any object that can get him closer to his goal. He climbs anything and anyone who is around him. He LOVES playing patty-cake! He does this funny thing where he hold up his hands in fists and his body shakes anytime he gets excited.(see first pic) It is quite hilarious and we find ourselves trying to get him to do it over and over again. He just makes me laugh. He is so much fun to play with! He is jibber-jabbering a lot and says mama and dada and baba quite well....although when I ask him to say mama, he usually says dada and then blows a raspberry. Funny kid! He is a true blessing, a miracle, and the best gift that we could have ever been given....cancer and all!

ABBY UPDATE: Well, a week ago, Abby was doing REALLY well! There was no sign of the leukemia, and she was eating and playing and had a miraculous turn around. Sadly, today, I heard from her mom and her blood counts are showing that she has 27% blasts (leukemic cells), and she has a lot of swollen bumps on her head. They believe the bumps are leukemia. As you can imagine, this is a horrifying roller coaster of ups and downs for Abby's parents. Please pray for strength for Abby's body to fight off the leukemia, and that the Lord will give the doctors wisdom on what to do next. Pray for John and Jennifer that they have clarity on what they should do next and that they have strength, both emotional and physical to get through one day at a time.

Thank you all for your continued love and support. Talk to you next month! :)

Running the Race set before us,

The Praskins Fam