Open eyes!!!

First of all, I want to thank all of you for your prayers and outpouring of love and support over the past few days. This week has been so emotionally and physically draining for Kirk and me, as well as for our families, and I know the only way we have made it through is by the strength and courage God has given us through all of your prayers.  He has been so faithful to Field and to us through this experience, and we will be forever grateful for the doctors and nurses at Medical City Dallas, and for all of you who have reached out in so many ways to show us love and support.

Wednesday and Thursday were hard..almost harder than getting through the surgery itself.  We were so relieved that the surgery was over and was successful, but it was heartbreaking to see our baby so confused and helpless.  By early Wednesday morning, Field's eyes were completely swollen shut.  Swelling was beginning to increase around the rest of his head too..which is normal.  Dr. Fearon told us the swelling would probaby peak between 36 and 48 hours after surgery.  We were able to move out of PICU to a regular room by mid-morning Wednesday.  It was great to have more space and be able to have more family come back, and especially for Field not to be hooked up to all the monitors and IVs anymore.  But as his swelling increased, it was more difficult to keep him comfortable and content.  His head was so heavy with fluid that he could barely hold it up.  He wanted to be held constantly..and most of the time, I was the only one who could comfort him.    He did seem to love the wagon rides around the hallways and outside to the garden though.  

The doctors made their rounds Thursday morning and told us that everything looked good and we would be able to leave the hospital as soon as the nurse helped us bathe him and shampoo his head (which is the only care we have to for his incision).  We were so glad to be able to leave, but a little apprehensive of how Field would do back at our hotel.  To our surprise he fell asleep as soon as we put him in his carseat.  Back at the hotel, our moms took turns strolling him around the hallways and parking lot.  As long as he was moving, he seemed pretty content.  He would just get so frustrated and scared when we put him down to try to let him crawl or play with his toys, but we knew as soon as he could get his eyes cracked open the tiniest little bit, he would be happier.  He slept much better than we had expected last night, so when we woke up this morning, we decided to try and make our way back to Mississippi today.  

Dr. Fearon was kind enough to let us bring Field by his office at 12:30 to look at him and reassure us that everything was healing as it should and answer some final questions for us before we got on the road.  He told us that he thought we would see Field's eyes open a little by this afternoon or tonight.  We stopped in Shreveport around 4:00 to get some coffee.  As soon as I got Field out of the car and walked into Starbucks, Mrs. Marilyn noticed his right eye barely peep open..the tiniest slit, but it was the best feeling ever!!!  He immediately began to smile at us and reach for our keys and cell phones, and by the time we walked out of Starbucks, his left eye had barely peeped open too!  I've been sitting with him in the back seat smiling and playing peek-a-boo the rest of our drive home!  It's hard to tell from this picture, but in person you can barely see his little blue eyes peeping through!