IOL Update & Surgery #2

We are down in Charleston preparing for Thomas’ second eye surgery today at 12:50 pm!

I cannot thank you all enough for your continued prayers for Thomas’ surgeries and recovery. You have no idea how loved and supported he feels. His classmates and friends at school have been SO unbelievably supportive and kind. I was worried he’d be made fun of this week for his glasses temporarily only having one lens (his left) in them and a very bloodshot eye, but he has only experienced goodness — homemade cards, parents have checked in, video messages, gifts, and more. To all the parents out there raising thoughtful and empathetic kids, I LOVE YOU.

So an update!

The goal for the surgery was to no longer need contacts, and that his vision would improve with the IOL implant as well (but we were told no guarantees)! I shared more info on the surgery details last week in this post.

Matt and I have been interrogating Thomas daily over the past week to see how his vision is doing. He has a hard time articulating it and usually responds with “better!” with no additional details. So earlier this week I burst into tears at the dinner table when he said “oh! I have side eye vision now!” and began to describe it. Y’all, he was trying to tell us he has PERIPHERAL VISION now, which is not something we were even anticipating!!!!

WHAT A FREAKING UNEXPECTED BLESSING.

There are no words to describe how grateful we are that this surgery will allow him to navigate the world a little better than before with tunnel vision (along with very little depth perception).

His life is about to change so much. Riding a bike. Playing sports. Not being scared of the dark (because he can now SEE in the dark). Stairs. Swimming. The beach. The pool. The classroom. Sleepovers. Summer camp. There are tears streaming down my face as I even write these activities out.

We will take all the continued prayers for his left eye surgery to go just as well, for perfect healing over the next few weeks, and that we see similar improvement. I’m praying hard for the miracle of depth perception. Gosh, I would love that so much for him. For me not to scream “STAIRS!” or “STEP! Buddy, there’s a STEP!” every time we are somewhere new.

Beyond grateful. Indescribably thankful.

If you’re newer and want to catch up on Thomas’s eye condition, you can read all about it HERE.