Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction (blocked tear duct)

(Edited to Add the follow up Surgery we had to have a few months later because this procedure didn't work.  Click HERE to view that post.)
This morning we took Levi to see a pediatric opthamologist at Children's Hospital here in our area. Since birth Levi has had a blocked tear duct in his right eye. We were told that it would probably clear up. Well, unfortunately it didn't clear up on it's own so today we had a procedure to unblock the tear duct. Usually they can wait until a year to see if it will fully clear up on it's own but the down side to that is that if it doesn't by then they would have to use general anesthesia to put Levi under to do the procedure. Mark and I really didn't want them to have to put Levi under so we decided to have the procedure done today in the office. We prayed about it and really felt at peace with our decision to have it done now. It turned out that after the procedure the doctor said that his block was not in the normal spot and that it would probably only have gotten infected down the road. The other part is that she also said that there's a 50/50 chance that the procedure will unblock it. So we will go back in a month to see how everything healed and if it worked and then go from there. The next step then would be to have him put under and they would insert a temporary tube in his tear duct. So if you feel led please pray that the procedure he had done today would work and clear up the blockage.

Here we are playing and waiting for the doctor to see us. We were the very first appointment at 7:40am! You would never know by how this little guy smiles but really his right eye has gunk constantly dripping out. Sometimes the entire eyeball and eyelid are red and the area around the eye is red a puffy. It really never seemed to bother him. When I was a baby I had the same procedure done at about 6-8weeks old. Lulu was having fun coloring. She a great big sister, with lots of hugs and kisses for Levi. She sat in the doctors office so well and prayed for Levi when we stepped out during the procedure. Here Levi and I are in the exam chair. They gave him a typical eye exam before the procedure. His vision is excellent! Here he is with his little eye patch for the check up. He didn't even cry or try to take the patch off. He just sat there and smiled and giggled. This looks worse then what it actually is. They put orange dye into both eyes to see how quickly the dye would drain. His left eye drained very quickly like it should but the right eye wouldn't drain at all so this verified the blockage. And again he just smiled during this part too. Here's the papoose board they were going to be strapping him too for the procedure. That's our receiving blanket they put on there for his comfort (or mine). They asked one of us to stay with him while they did the procedure. This is what dad's are for and so Mark stayed with Levi while Lulu and I went and waited in the waiting room. This picture is right before the procedure. While I was out in the waiting room I heard a baby cry, so I listened and I could tell it wasn't Levi. Then a few minutes later I heard another cry and knew that was Levi. I just wanted to go comfort him right then. I new it was a good thing I wasn't in there. Mark is so calm and cool in these situations and that made me feel good knowing he was there to comfort Levi. The procedure was very quick. I soon saw the assistant and she waved me to come back. We got back into the room and I just held Levi. He put his head on my shoulder and just rested. On our way home he fell asleep. Ahhhh, it's done and now we can just rest knowing it's in God's hands.Here is Levi just about 2 hours later at home happy as can be. Again his eye looks worse then what it actually is. They said he would have some blood in his tears as it continued to heal.These two amazing children are best buds. Look at their hands, they are holding hands. Lulu has been a great helper. She holds the cap to the eye drops and comforts Levi while I give him the drops. Here they are again at lunch. Lulu has been extra lovie-dovie to Levi today. Here is a picture of his red tears and we will see in a month how it is compared to today. Praise God for comfort and wisdom! Levi is doing great and is aciting totally normal.