Tysen Update

Baby Tysen had eye surgery to open up both of his tear ducts. Since birth, Tysen's eyes have always been extra watery or teary. At his 1 year wellness check-up, his pediatrician recommended that we take Tysen to see an ophthalmologist. We did and the ophthalmologist felt it would be best to proceed with the surgery as he did not feel Tysen would outgrow this condition on his own. Matthew and I were allowed in the room when the procedure took place and it was very difficult to watch. The doctor had an assistant that tightly wrapped Tysen in a blanket so that he couldn't move his arms. Then she held his face firmly. The doctor quickly placed numbing drops in both eyes and then forced a long needle through the corner of his eye down into his nasal cavity (that's where the tear ducts drain) to open up any blockages. Then he pulled the needle out and repeated the procedure on the other eye. Tysen was so mad. He was screaming. The procedure only took about 2 minutes and then he needed antibiotic eye drops before we were able to hold him. Once Daddy was holding him, he calmed down right away but he was giving the doctor and his assistant dirty looks! We were sent home with instructions to give him antibiotic eye drops for 4 more days and that we should be able to see results in about a week. Well, a month has passed since the surgery and unfortunately it was a big failure. Tysen's eyes are just as watery now as they were before the surgery. The plan now is to wait about six months and we will schedule another surgery at Children's hospital to have little tubes placed in his tear ducts to keep them open. Poor little guy!

It just so happens that on this same day we got confirmation that Tysen does indeed have a milk and egg allergy. Again back at his 1 year wellness check-up, I mentioned my concern about Tysen not being able to tolerate milk. Once he turned a year old, I began trying to wean him off of formula. I started with only an ounce of whole milk mixed in with his formula. He tolerated that okay. But once I increased the amount of whole milk in the formula, he began vomiting up the entire bottle just minutes after finishing it. We got frustrated and just went back to formula until we could speak to his pediatrician. The pediatrician recommended that we have Tysen tested for food allergies. He had some blood drawn and I later got the phone call confirming that he was allergic to milk and I was very surprised about the egg allergy, too. I wasn't expecting that. However, both of his allergies are mild and he has a very good chance of outgrowing them both. Tysen is now doing well on soy milk. Because soy milk has very little fat content, we need to supplement Tysen's diet with extra healthy fats from avocados and olive oil. We also continue to give him two 6 ounce servings of soy formula a day just to ensure that he's getting enough fat for healthy brain development that is very crucial at this age.