Jacob's eye surgery

On July 13, 2010 Jacob had an accident where his eye was injury and required surgery. Matthew was taking a nap, my mom who was living with us at the time, had gone grocery shopping, I was mostly dead on the couch trying to fall asleep before I threw up my lunch and Jacob and Adam were supposed to be watching a movie and playing in their tent. They were in the family room with me. All of a sudden Jacob starts screaming and I launch myself off the couch. It was the real "I'm hurt" screams not just my brother hit me screams. He comes rushing out of the tents with both hands over his left eye screaming "I'm going to die"! He is so hysterically I can't even figure out what is wrong. Finally I get him to lay down on the couch but he still won't remove his hands from his eye but he has told me that he stabbed himself in the eye. I finally have to yell at him that I have to see his eye so that I can help him. There was blood coming through his hands and I needed to see how bad it was and talking to him wasn't working. Yelling at him to move his hands finally got through to him. When he moved his hands and tried to open his left eye all I could see was the white of his eye and blood. So I placed a wet cloth on his eye, put his hands back on his eye and told him to push. I was pretty sure I was going to throw up so I took my phone to the bathroom and called my mother to come back home, that I needed to get Jacob to the ER. I had a car but at that point in my pregnancy I couldn't drive. I couldn't hardly walk around without throwing up. Next I called David and told him Jacob had stabbed himself in the eye and I was taking him to the ER and he needed to come home. I will always remember his response. He said "right now?" I lost it then and started crying and said "Yes, I need you right now!" I think he thought that since I was so calm he couldn't have been anything bad and number two I don't think he had quiet processed what I was saying. Then I called a neighbor to come sit with my other kids. By the time we got seen by the ER doctor, I had gotten Jacob to open his eye and move it in all directions. That made me feel a lot better. The bleeding had also stopped. The ER doctor told us that his eyeball was not punctured and that his vision seemed to be consistent with an eye injury and not far from normal but that he didn't have the equipment to see everything he wanted to and he was sending us to the on call opthamologist. His office was in Lehi and he was an excellent doctor and help. He confirmed that Jacob's vision would be fine and that the injury was only to the white of his eyeball and not the iris. By this time we felt like we had an accurate story from Jacob on what had happened. He was holding an extra tent pole that had previously been broken in his hand. He lowered in head and body to get out of the play tent and the bottom of the tent pole hit the ground but his head kept moved forward and he stabbed himself in the eye. From injury we could actually tell it was more like the jagged edge of the tent pole scraped his eyeball and then cut his upper eyelid. The opthamologist was concerned about the cut in his eyelid. He would have to have it stitched but he was worried that the tear duct had been damaged. So he called an eye reconstructive and plastic surgeon for us. The surgeon agreed to do the surgery that night at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. Jacob had to have his eyes dilated at the opthamologist. Amazingly, up to having his eye dilated Jacob was extremely cooperative and not scared of anything the doctors were doing to him. This is the kid that had to be pinned down by 4 adults to be given his flu shot just months earlier. But the dilation gave him a horrible headache, stomach ache and he was generally just feel horrible. He complained of the light hurting his eyes so David gave him his sunglasses. While we waited for the surgeon's instructions I held him in my lap and he feel asleep. We went home to get some things and to give Jacob a priesthood blessing. But the car ride home made him sick and he threw up. In the end it was a blessing he threw up since now he would have an empty stomach for surgery and we wouldn't have to wait. Time was of the essence because they didn't want anything to start to heal before surgery. Jacob refused to take off the sunglasses so at home we were able to get his and his blanket. We made it down to UVRMC and the surgeon explained that if his tear duct was severed which he guessed it was they would put a tube through into tear duct and into his nose to hold it open so scar tissue wouldn't form. They would stitch his eyelid and hopefully would not have to stitch the tissue and muscle in the inside corner of his eye. The surgery started around 8:30 pm and the surgeon guessed maybe 45 minutes to an hour. We got to be with Jacob in the pre-op room and the anesthesiologist agreed not to put the IV in until after Jacob was asleep. I was so grateful. Jacob was in good spirits and talking to all the nurses. Still it was very hard to watch him go down to the operating room without me. Shortly after surgery started my dad who had been doing his calling at BYU showed up and sat him us. I was falling apart by this time. I was hungry but sick and nervous. I picked at David's food but was sure I was going to throw up so I stopped eating. After an hour in surgery, I was ready to walk up walls. Finally about an hour and 20 minutes later the surgeon came out to talk to us. There was actually two eyelid lacerations that he had to repair and he did place the tube in his tear duct and stitch it in his nose but he didn't put any stitches in his eye which was good. Stitches in your eye would be horribly uncomfortable. Just shortly after that they brought Jacob out and we went up to the pediatric floor. Jacob was awake but didn't really want to be. He wanted his sunglasses back on and I asked for his IV to be covered somehow because I was sure if he woke up and saw that he would lose it. My dad stayed to take me home but I didn't want to leave Jacob. Finally David asked me to please go home because he couldn't take care of both me and Jacob at the hospital. Fine, guilt me into going home. Dad and I got home shortly after midnight but I didn't sleep more than two hours that night. Then Dad took me back to the hospital in the morning and Jacob was awake and had eaten breakfast and was watching Nacho Libre on David's laptop. He had awoke at about 2 am hungry and had eaten and stayed awake talking to David for over an hour. I wish I had been there but I know Jacob was happy with his Dad too. Jacob was discharged shortly after that and in good spirits. He never knew he had an IV in and showed me the cool glove he had to wear on his hand (that covered the IV). David had asked the nurse to take it out in the morning when Jacob was still sleeping and she did. Jacob was happy and ready to go home and in love with his special hospital bands that he wore on his wrists. We got home and settle and Jacob got visitors and little treats and presents all day long. He loved it. He wore his sunglasses for almost a week straight. I think they were more of a security blanket than helping with pain.

Jacob in the morning watching Nacho Libre.

Jacob right after surgery and not completely awake

One week after surgery. The eye surgeon wasn't very happy with how the tissue was healing so thickly in the corner of his eye and so he had Jacob do some steroid eye drops to help thin it out. His eye is so red here you can't even see the tube in the corner.

On December 23rd, the surgeon removed the tube from his tear duct and we're hoping that some of the inflammation and redness that has been in his eye since the accident will finally go away now but it could take up to a year. That eye will always be susceptible to redness and irritation now. In fact when Jacob is sleepy his eye is very blood shot but just that left eye and just the side next to his nose. However David and I have said over and over again how blessed we feel that the injury didn't cause more damage, that his vision is fine and that he didn't lose an eye. Also we are amazed that during the entire event in July I did not throw up one time. Heavenly Father really does bless us with tender mercies.

Jacob ready for surgery. He was excited to have his hospital wrist bands again. And loved the orange slippers they gave him for his feet. In fact he thought the whole hospital experience was a grand adventure. Again I'm amazed he cooperated so well with the doctors and nurses. He had to go under again but this time surgery was just 5 minutes to remove the tube.

Jacob's eye before surgery with the tube still in.

After surgery with the tube removed. Plus the surgeon gave me the tube to keep. I was shocked how long it was. See the red dot above his eye. The nurse had me draw that was they wouldn't do surgery on the wrong eye. Um, only one eye has a tube to remove, pretty sure you can't miss it!