Alexander Manuel Nalda: Unblocking a Tear Duct

Alex needed surgery on his right eye after all… When we saw the ophthalmologist a few months ago, he said that by rubbing the corner of the eye several times a day, we could help open up the tear duct. But it didn’t (maybe we didn’t rub enough). Some days Alex’s eye was fine, some other days it was so red that it showed signs of infection. Poor Alex kept rubbing and rubbing and at the same time he was making it worse. We felt so bad for him.

Although the whole “surgery” thing made me very worried, I was much more nervous about putting Alex under general anesthesia. Both the pediatrician and the ophthalmologist said that they had never seen anyone have complications from anesthesia. So what do you do but to trust them, right? That was very, very hard… and like a lot of times I tried not to show that weak side of me… the side that is so scared I can’t even think straight. But Noli knows me so well. I bet he knew I wasn’t thinking very straight.

And the day came and went like nothing. I will admit - it seemed like we waited an eternity before they took us back to the Pediatric Ward. Once we got there, we saw so many other parents and young children. The kids were playing with toys in the waiting room oblivious to what really happens there. I could see the worry in those parents’ eyes. I wondered what sorts of problems they were dealing with. At the same time, I was very thankful to God that OUR problem was not too serious and we have a very healthy boy.

Alex looked SO cute when we changed him into his little gown. The nurse said “this is the smallest we have” and it was huge on him. He kept busy playing with toys and riding on a big wagon through the hallways. Once the doctors were ready for him, I also changed into full scrubs, hair was covered, face mask, the whole 9 yards… I looked like one of them!!! I carried him into the operating room. He was so curious looking at all the lights. As I laid him down, he looked at me as if to ask, “What is going on Mommy?” and started to cry. That was hard!!! It wasn’t very long before the cries stopped and he was asleep like a little angel…

We took a few pictures with our phones, sorry for the poor quality shots, but we wanted to capture this moment to share with you all.

"These toys are so much fun!!!"