In the Blink of an Eye

For those who have not heard, our lives changed drastically yesterday. We unfortunately learned that Rowan has Retinoblastoma, a very rare but aggressive form of eye cancer. To give you an idea of how trying yesterday was: we were exceedingly relieved to learn that Rowan will only loose her left eye.

We'll be traveling to Miami to see an uber-specialist Monday morning (we leave Sunday night). Rowan's CT and MRI revealed that the tumors are 1) only in her left eye (her right eye seems perfect) and 2) are completely contained within the eye (so the cancer has not yet spread to her bone or muscle- this is extremely good). The doctor will likely prescribe a series of chemo to reduce the size of the tumor before deciding whether to remove the eye. Given the risks of chemo (including facial deformation), Meg and I are in favor of removing the eye immediately rather than attempting to save it. The risks outweigh the rewards.

The good news is that Rowan is feeling fine- she's been without sight in her eye for at least a week now and shows no signs of missing it. She learned how to walk yesterday at the eye specialists. Other good points: she can save half off contact lenses, cannot be drafted, and can always go as a pirate for Halloween (see, in my family, we deal with humor...).