First Treatment

We got home a little while ago from Enler's first treatment. We are sitting here on the couch next to my mom who is cuddling our beautiful sleeping baby.

The poor thing developed increasing congestion and a cough yesterday. It was a bit worse this morning but we weren't sure if that would affect the treatment or not so headed to Phoenix Children's Hospital (PCH) to find out. We were up at 4:45 am (although I had gotten up at 2:45 for his last feed prior to the procedure). It was raining and lovely outside. We got showered and woke up the wee man and got him dressed. We were out the door by 5:30 and checking in at PCH at 6 am. Mom met us there.

The whole process went very smoothly. After checking in at the front desk we went back to admitting. There I had to fill out some paper work and pay the facility fee ($200). We will still be billed for the physicians. Shortly after we were called back to pre-op. We had lovely nurses who took Enler's vitals and gathered his information. The anesthesiologist came and met with us and said it was OK to proceed given his congestion and cough. We were also visited by the eye doctor, who is lovely, and the dermatology fellow. The dermatologist was running a wee bit late so we wouldn't see him until after. Within 30 minutes we were taken back to the procedure room. Enler slept through most of this - what a good boy! He only fussed when the drops were put in to his eyes to dilate them.

Back in the procedure room there was a lot of commotion. There were approximately 8 people in the room and it was very bright. It made a difference that everyone was so welcoming and warm. We laid Enler down on the procedure bed and the strawberry anesthesia mask was placed on him. Once he was out we each gave him a big kiss and headed to the waiting area. We experienced a bit of anxiety and sadness leaving our little guy. The only way we were able to make that journey out there was knowing that the physicians and other staff were going to take excellent care of our little man.

One by one the docs came out to tell us how it went. First, the eye doctor. No sign of glaucoma! His eyes are looking great. We don't need another visit until 3 months from now. Then, the dermatologist and fellow arrived. They said the procedure went well. For his first treatment they started with the lower power on the laser. The treatment was focused on the darker area towards his mid face and they avoided going past his hair line. I guess there has been some hair thinning in other babies. They don't get to that area until he's older. Next treatment will be in 2 months (although we'll wait until February until I have some more time so I can have the day off with him). In regards to his healing, we should expect that his bruising will improve over the next week. It should be all gone within 10 days. We have an antibiotic cream to apply twice a day until then. If it blisters, which they don't think it should, we have an prescription for steroids. We probably won't see significant improvement for 4 -5 months - and we'll already be into the 2nd treatment by then. What an adventure.

The last doc was the anesthesiologist. He was such a sweet man. He said everything went well although Enler experienced laryngeal spasm and required intubation. This was most likely secondary to his congestion. He was now extubated and doing well getting cuddles by the nurses. We were so thankful.

We were then taken back to the post op area. It was a bit of a shock at first seeing Enler with the big purple bruise on his face. Although we had looked at photos of other kiddos who had been through the treatment, nothing can prepare you for seeing your own son all bruised up. His face had dark purple dots on a dark pink background and it was swollen. All we wanted to do was give him lots of kisses and cuddles.

By 9:30 am we were headed home to heal. A very quick and successful procedure. Here are some photos from the journey. We will continue to update as he heals.