overly optimistic

Iris had an ophthalmology appointment today. I'd been eager for this appointment to get a better idea of the state of Iris's irises. And if she needed glasses I wanted to get them on her as soon as possible. 

Upon meeting Iris for the first time, most people do not notice that she has any particular eye issue. It's only when Evan and I point out that her pupils are huge does anyone seem to take note. By all accounts, she tracks very well and has no problems with peripheral vision or grabbing on to what she has set her sights on. Knowing this, I was not particularly anxious about the appointment. Even though she is at greater risk for glaucoma and cataracts, it seems too early for those to intrude. 

After waiting for slightly too long a time, the ophthalmologist breezed in to the examination room. A fellow was with him, so he began the encounter by quizzing her on WAGR syndrome while simultaneously typing notes on the computer: "What do you know about WAGR syndrome?" She thought for a moment, "Let's see... Wilm's Tumor, aniridia, G is for...genitourniary, and the R is...renal?" I nodded as she finished the G and the R. "That's right," he said and continued talking -- though I have no idea what he was talking about because following him made my head spin. I did stop him fairly quickly and mentioned, "Yes, that's WAGR syndrome, but Iris doesn't have it. Genetics tested her and she doesn't have the gene deletion." He did some tests on her eyes to see how well she tracks, shined some lights in to check out the rest of the eyes and also tested the eye pressure to see where she stood in regards to glaucoma. 

When he was ready to begin telling us [Evan was on speakerphone] about his assessment and conclusion he started with, "I don't want to be overly optimistic..." and he went on to say that Iris looks great and has no need for glasses at this point. She is slightly far-sighted but he doesn't think she'll need glasses for quite a long time. He also said that she might start having trouble with cataracts years earlier than most adults, but maybe not till her 40s at the earliest. "She is probably one of the top two cases of aniridia I have seen, her eyes look great." 

Evan asked about how much care we need to take with her eyes and mentioned the sunglasses we have for her. The ophthalmologist said, "Don't get an ulcer over trying to keep the sun out of her eyes when you're in the car. She'll close her eyes if it gets too bright." He did say a floppy hat is a good idea. We were very happy to hear this good news and though we certainly may not have the same good news in the future, it seems like an auspicious beginning.

Speaking of that floppy hat and those sunglasses, we took a trip to the mountains together over the weekend:

 Iris is down to 1/16L of oxygen, which is almost nothing. I am hopeful that we'll have her off oxygen by the end of the year. We are going to Los Alamos for Christmas, though, and since it's at 7,300 ft, she might need oxygen there. 

We also went to visit Jill & Dara today. These girls are really starting to have fun with each other and we're looking forward to seeing them grow up together.

Dara's older sister, Liliana, had her 3rd birthday party this past weekend and we went to the place they do music class. I think that I will start doing a music class with Iris in January and am very much looking forward to it. 

And finally, we did some family photos a few weeks ago. The photographer is a nurse in the Cardiac ICU at Children's and took care of Iris the first couple days after her surgery. (Here's her website. Denver people -- her prices are really great since she's not a professional). She got some really great shots even though Iris was really sleepy and needed a nap. Here are a couple of good ones.

photo credit: Visible Life Photography

photo credit: Visible Life Photography