Life has been busy in the Stuve household but overall we are doing well.
Medical Updates: Since the end of March 2016, we have been working with a Pediatric Eye specialist to treat a left eye that suddenly started turning inward (strabismus). The cause was related to a condition known as Benign Intracranial Hypertension, which essentially meant that Penny was producing cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) in her brain at a normal rate, but the part of her brain that reabsorbed the CSF was not working normally. This created a potentially dangerous condition that began to increase the fluid pressure in her brain.
As the eye muscles/nerves are the most sensitive to increases in pressure, we discovered the changes right away with the sudden onset of strabismus and began to seek treatment. After a brief stay in a local Childrens's Hospital, we began a regular course of a medication that helps to remove excessive fluid and swelling. To make a long story shorter, Penny was weaned off of the medication successfully around Thanksgiving, and it appears that the problems with pressure should be behind us. To assist in correcting the strabismus, Penny has been wearing a mild eye glass prescription along with some patching of the dominant (right) to help build strength in the weaker (left) eye.
Nonetheless, when we visited her eye doctor in December, we were advised that after 8 months of eye treatment, the next step would need to be a minor eye surgery to correct the strabismus. We were fortunate to get her in the very next day and Penny was allowed to return back home the day of surgery. As you can see in the below picture, the results of a "straight gaze" were immediately seen after surgery and she continues to heal up to this point. Pretty happy kid!
Even though she wasn't a fan of the eye drops she most certainly loves to sport her pretty pink glasses.
Penny has also met some new friends with glasses as she cheers her brothers on in Soccer.
Overall, she loves being out with her brothers or just making us laugh!
Penny has a pretty fierce love for Disney princess movies, especially "Frozen" and "Beauty & the Beast". It seems like we have a circulating performance from either Anna, Elsa, or Belle (and you must refer to her by that princess name or you're in trouble!). She even decided to wear her "Frozen" bike helmet to bed, which we allowed for the picture but then promptly removed. : )
Even when she was sad during her recovery you couldn't find her without one of her princess companions.
Miss Persephone continues to amaze us on a daily basis with her new sense of vocabulary that she is picking up at early preschool. Her teacher, "Miss Sandy" and several of her classmates are quickly becoming a new step in her social world.
Chayenne - we hope that your holiday season was restful and warm and that 2017 will shine brightly upon you.
Much love from the Stuve household
