I don’t know if anyone remembers these posts from back in November/December, but I am going to go ahead and update now that we have new information.
We took my daughter (now age 3) in for a pre-surgery exam on the 8th and received a more detailed explanation of the surgery and what it entails.
They did blood work and took an x-ray, but I was disappointed to learn that this was not so much to determine the cause of the cataracts and more to check and make sure that there would not be any problems with the planned surgery and anesthesia. The doctor did say that, if it was something like Type I Diabetes, it probably would have shown up in post-natal testing.
The surgery is going to be more complex than I had thought. They are not simply going to use ultrasound to destroy the cataracts; they are going to insert an artificial lens into her eye. This will allow her to see things farther away, but will probably make her nearsighted, which will need correction with either eyeglasses or contacts. It may also require follow up surgeries as she grows…
They are going to do the left eye as planned on February 28, but the doctor said that it would probably be another six months before they do the right eye (unless the cataracts on the right eye start expanding more rapidly).
Thankfully, my company is very understanding and gave me the 8th off and is also giving me the day of the surgery and the day of hospital discharge (if it ends up falling on a weekday) off with pay. The surgery is also essentially free (there is a nominal charge of 400 yen and then something like 1,300 yen per day for hospital food, which is not covered by insurance). We are prepared to shell out the equivalent of 100 USD per night to get a private room (also not covered), which is a small price to pay for a nice quiet environment for my little girl to recuperate. I am thankful to live in a country where we can afford this kind of surgery. I am also looking forward to the day when my little girl can see clearly for the first time, and I hope that she’ll get used to it quickly.
