Wednesday, May 06, 2009

We heart our doctors

We had two good visits with doctors yesterday. It's always nice when they can give you good news.

First up, Whit got to see her BOY-friend, Dr. Buckley. The first thing he said when he walked in,

"Hi there, pretty girl."
She was on cloud nine!

So we have not been patching or doing any sort of treatment on her eyes over the past three months. I was terrified that her vision was going to drop significantly, but it stayed the same as last visit--20/30 in both eyes! Hooray! No tan lines from patching this summer!

He is still concerned about her alignment. When she looks to the right, her eyes diverge quite a bit. He's thinking she may need another surgery down the road to get them better aligned. I was just so happy that her vision was good, so I asked him why would he operate again. He gave two reasons: 1. appearance 2. binocular vision. I don't think I'd let her go under the knife again just for appearance. I feel like to anyone who doesn't know she has a problem, the misalignment is subtle. But I DO wish she had a wider range of binocular vision (using both eyes together). So we'll have to see what comes of that down the road.

Andrew also had a good visit with his orthopedist yesterday. He said it is encouraging that the pain is localized to his lower back area and not radiating down his leg. That shows that there's not significant pressure being put on the nerve from the herniated disc. So we're not looking at surgery right now.

He still experiences a lot of pain constantly, but it's better than it has been in months. The doctor wants him to keep doing his back exercises, add cardio three times a week, and come back to see him in three months. Hopefully he'll have some relief by then.

11 comments:

CarrieMarie said...

I think it's great that you're electing not to do surgery for appearance. My eyes don't work together, and I had a few surgeries when I was little. When I was 11 or 12, they wanted to do one more - while I was awake. The thought so terrified me! (Still does, no Lasik for this girl!) I asked if it would help my vision, and was told that no, it would just help the eyes align. Since that was what the other 3 surgeries were supposed to do & hadn't (or, had but the muscles were too strong & they pulled back), and it wouldn't improve my vision, I elected not to.

Long story short (too late, sorry!) - 20+ years later, I'm still glad I didn't have the surgery. I wear glasses to see, and very rarely do ppl notice that my eyes aren't working together, because they've learned to appear to be focusing together when speaking to someone. : )

carrie said...

good news, for both! and good luck it keeps going that way!!

The Normal Mormon Husband said...

Oh, man, I had conveniently forgotten that part about cardio three times per week. I don't think my doctor wants me doing cardio for my back - it's to get rid of my gut. Did you bribe him, hon?

Sandy said...

Glad you all got some good news (even if Andrew doesn't think the cardio is good news, haha!) - I'm sure its such a relief to not have to patch this summer!!

Natalie said...

Yay! That is awesome news for both! Being healthy and feeling is so important!

The "D" Family said...

That is great news! I hope things just continue to get better and better!

Jayne said...

Ah, there is nothing like good news at the doctors!

The Oregonians said...

Whenever we have been around Whitney, even knowing her history, we have never seen anything but a beautiful girl with beautiful eyes.

Andrew, aren't all bishops supposed to have a bit of a paunch?

Matt and Heather said...

hey! we're going private... so can i get your email address so i can add you to our blog? THANKS!!!

Grandma Sweat said...

I'm so glad you don't have to patch!! Whitney is such a trouper, and you are such a fabulous "patcher" that you never complain, but being able to enjoy this summer without patching must be a huge relief to you! Dr. Buckley and Whitney look awesome in their photo.

And hopefully Andrew won't have to patch this summer either - which in bad back terms be lying in bed moaning every other day. Happy Mother's Day tomorrow!

Love to you all!
Grandmama Sweat

Marianne said...

Hooray for good dr visits....I love it when you post about W's boyfried!