Well, I had all these great plans for my first 2011 post. About what a great year it is, how it's started off SO much better than 2010, etc. And it has started out better, for the most part.
Elizabeth won the spelling bee at her school. As in, beat the entire school. She will compete regionally in March. :)
Jason is recovering nicely from his surgery on Christmas Eve. He is back to work and things are back to normal.
we are the "guinea pigs" for a new curriculum at church. One of our members has written a year long study and we are testing it out for him, and for Lifeway. We will read then entire Bible over the course of a year, and study it together as a church family. Changes are already visible, and we are all enjoying the study.
This leads us to Miss Amy Hope. We went for a basic eye check up the first week of the year. The dr. noticed something on her retina. he thought it was probably nothing, but wanted us to check on it to be sure. So, off we went to a retina specialist in Jackson. He said yes, there is definitely something in there, I think it's Stargardts, but I don't know for sure. Then we heard the sentence no parent wants to hear: Do you want to go to Vanderbilt or Lebohnner? After picking my jaw up off the floor, I decided on LeBohnner. He recommend a "Dr. A", a pediatric opthamologist, for us. After the doc left the room, the nurse said, "I shouldn't tell you this, but I have to. Dr. A has a horrible bedside manner. I used to work for Dr. Byrd, and many of our patients came to us as a result of not liking Dr. A. This is her name and number, if you decide to see her, tell her I said for her to see you." I thanked her, and went to make the appt with Dr. A, planning to discuss this with Jason when I got home. when I got to the appt desk, we discovered that Dr. A wouldn't even see Amy until APRIL. So, I said what about Vandy? One of the receptionists said, "Isn't there a Dr. Byrd in Memphis?" I jumped in and said "Oh, I've heard great things about her! Let's try that!" we saw her today, a week after we made the appointment. There is no doubt in my mind we were supposed to see this woman.
Anyway, she found something in Amy's eyes. A lot of something. She called it "retinal dystrophy". to be frank, it ain't good. We are going to see a dr. at Lebohnner specializing in Pediatric Hereditary Retinal Dystrophy on Thursday. I have been warned by Dr. Byrd that more than likely there will be another visit for testing, as it will have to be done under sedation. We also have to bring Jason with us, as the dr. may well want to examine him to get a better idea about Jason. I'm glad he will be with us.
I have read a bit about this, and I believe the dystrpohy is a generic term. I'm seeing a lot of "Cone Disease" and "Bests Disease" but I really don't know enough to know anything. At this point, I think I am going to STOP investigating, b/c I dont' like what I am reading, and dont' want to totally freak out about it. I had my breakdown on Sam Cooper Blvd this morning; now I have to assume "Taking care of business mode".
I would greatly appreciate your prayers for us. I dont' know what the outcome of all this will be. I know that it is all in God's hands. I know that this is happening for a reason. But, I would just assume it was not happening to my baby.
