Monday was a big day for Christopher and his eye. We had been managing his glaucoma with eyedrops over the past year with varying success, changing the prescription a couple of times as Christopher's eyes would develop resistance. Finally, we learned last week that the pressure was getting out of control and surgery was scheduled.

Our first option was a relatively non-invasive laser surgery which would create openings inside his eye to allow the intraocular fluid to exit. Unfortunately, Christopher's young age and the severity of his condition ruled that out and the doctor was forced to insert a tube that would ensure clear passage. Those with strong stomachs (fair warning!) can view a video showing a variation of the surgery he received. Another fascinating, but much older video shows a technique for operating on child-sized eyes.

As you might suspect if you made it through those videos, Christopher was pretty miserable for the rest of the day, a combination of swelling around his eye and the effects of his anesthesia. Still, a brief nap and he was back to one of his favorite pastimes. He perked up a little in the afternoon when Ben came home from school and since has been more or less back to his bouncy self. Yesterday's follow-up appointment confirmed initial success, so now we are just monitoring Christopher for infections and will learn more as we return for additional checkups later this week and next.

It's both reassuring and a bit scary how well Christopher is coping with all of this. Watching him squint through his half-closed lids at his cars on Monday afternoon just shows how accustomed he is to coping with whatever level of vision he has. Then, yesterday morning, after waking up with his eye crusted shut, he announced, hands on hips, in a supremely annoyed tone (but no worse than just annoyed), “Oh, great! I'm blind. Oh, great!” This of course took Kari's breath away, but it served as a reminder that we need to treasure what sight he still has.

Thankfully, all he needed was a quick and gentle dab or two with a damp washcloth. Later that same day, he was suited up and ready to go back into the operating room, this time as the surgeon. Paging Dr. Chico, stat!