just wait till your Dad gets home!!!

I have definitely missed Reed these past few months but I think the person who has been affected the most by his absence is Fin. I realize that there are just some manly things that I just can’t relate with. I can appreciate the importance of a father figure in a young boy’s life. As you can see, Fin has been slipping into several bad habits. First, he prefers to chug Martinellie’s sparkling cider instead of his milk. After a long night Fin likes to start his morning right, he chases away the morning blahhs with hot chocolate. He is starting to listen to questionable music and seems to really like KISS. Lastly, he seems to be developing an interest in pole dancing! I’m just so grateful that Reed will be back in a few weeks to help me get him back on the right track!!!




 

Fin's surgery

 

As many of you know, Fin had a minor surgery on his eye this Tuesday. Fin has been having problems with a blocked tear duct in his right eye. The tear duct had a little layer of skin blocking his tears from draining and blocking gooey infection in. Fin’s eye was getting to be so gooped up that he wouldn’t be able to open it on some mornings (like in this picture). Usually the problem will correct itself with in first year, but if it doesn’t surgery is the most effective option.
The procedure Fin had is called a balloon dacryocystoplasty, it is a type of surgery used to open the blocked tear duct without making an incision in the nose or face. During surgery, a thin guide wire is inserted through the hole in the corner of the eye where the tears drain. The wire has a tiny, deflated balloon attached, which is threaded through to the blocked area. The balloon is gently inflated and the pressure from the balloon opens up and expands the blocked duct. The balloon is then deflated and removed along with the wire. The entire process, from when I left his side to when I met him in the recovery room, took less than 15 min.
I was very worried about having Fin put to sleep and having a crazy reaction to the anesthetic. Verne and Brett gave Fin a blessing the night before the procedure and that made me feel more comfortable about the whole ordeal. Reed called me from the ship at 5:15am (we had to be at the hospital by 6am) to reassure me that this was the right decision.
Fin was a real trooper. Before the surgery he had fun riding around the waiting room in a little plastic car. He didn’t cry or complain when I handed him off to the Anesthesiologist and his team, but when the nurse came to lead me to the recovery room I could hear him crying from down the hall. I was glad to hear him crying from a distance because I could tell that he was awake and ok.
The rest of that day Fin was drowsy and sick from the anesthetic. But those effects wore off by Tuesday evening. His eye has been completely clear ever since, so it seems like the surgery was a success!!! I’m very proud of my tough little boy.