Mom was a human pin cushion a couple weeks ago when she was admitted to the hospital for the second time. The nurses had to take a lot of blood for tests. To make matters worse, she was a “bad stick.” Her veins were still weak after the her big blood loss a month earlier. They’d collapse or blow, so they’d just have to poke her again. When her IV failed, they had it took three tries and a call to Rapid Response, their super nurse in triage, to get a new one in. Each time they jabbed her, she’d look away and squeeze my hand.
This morning was Kinley’s second eye exam.
Her first eye exam was held before we could get to the hospital. The nurses all cautioned us that the eye exams made for rough days for the babies, often filled with more Brady’s and De-Sats. But, when we got to Kinley later that day, she was doing quite well.
This time, we stayed the night. We were at her side when they administered the three rounds of drops to dilate her eyes. She squirmed a bit, but the nurse was impressed with how well she behaved.
Then the eye doctor and his nurse arrived. He dawned his fancy, black goggles and pulled out his special flash light.
Mom sat in the corner and I stood near Kinley’s bed as they started to administer the test.
Almost immediately, Kinley began to scream.
We’ve certainly heard her get pretty upset when she was uncomfortable or someone was poking at her. This was something else entirely.
I backed away and took mom’s hand. Tears filled her eyes and she crushed my fingers as each of her daughter’s screams stabbed her.
The doctor finished as quickly as he could, but alarms were already going off. He turned his light off and she fell quiet. While he and I discussed the results, the nurse lifted her out of her bassinet to stimulate her and get her heart and lungs working like the should.
The doctor still has to go back and compare results, but it looks like her retina’s are doing okay. He labeled them a stage one retinopathy of prematurity. There is a small devision between the retina and the supporting blood vessels. Nearly every premature baby exhibits some degree of this. Ninety percent of stage one cases resolve without any need for treatment.
We’ll check again in two weeks.