Yesterday was exactly two months since Makayla's eye muscle and strabimus surgery! We can still expect her eyes to improve over the next several years, as is typical with nystagmus, with or without the help of surgery. However, the two month mark is significant because it means her healing is complete and the change to her nystagmus, as a result of the surgery, should be most apparent now.
Here are the videos for comparison:
The night before surgery
One week post op
Two months post op, fully healed
The videos aren't as good a representation of the change in her nystyagmus as I wish they were. The first video was taken the day before surgery, after a very long and exhausting trip from San Francisco to Ohio, that left her tired and in a "spaced out" state, which significantly quieted her nystagmus.
From the videos, the most notable difference is the uncrossing of her eyes. When I look back at pictures and video, I am shocked that several doctors told us her eyes were not even crossed. That has probably been the most significant change in her vision also, as he biggest area of improvement seems to be her depth perception.
From the first week post op, to her most recent video (taken today), you probably see that her nystagmus actually looks a bit more wild, and I would definitely say that is accurate. Over the last week, maybe two, we have notice quite a bit of pick up in her nystagmus, whereas, in those first two weeks ofter surgery, it was almost unnoticeable at all. I am hoping the increase in the movement is a result of the stress of being in a new environment. Since we moved her, Makalya have been surrounded by new people and environment and has been showing some serious signs of anxiety. She has also had an ongoing upset stomach that we are trying to figure out. Is it the stress, a food allergy? We aren't sure, but something like that may very likely cause her nystagmus to act up. As she calms down over the next few months and we sort out the cause of her stomach issues, I will have to take another video of her nystagmus to share to compare. We will also be going back to Ohio, next year, so that Dr. Hertle can preform her tests again, which will give us a better idea of how much her vision has actually improved.
