Friday, February 7, 2014

Their Clockwork Daughter

Dear Ellie,

Your mother is worried about Retinopathy… well, she’s worrying about everything, but Retinopathy is the disease of the moment.  50 percent of 24 weekers will get it.  Basically, since your eyes are so small and undeveloped, there is a risk that your retinas could be damaged or detach as they grow.  Most of the time it can be repaired or cured with only marginal effects, but not always.  It’s too bad we don’t have cybernetic retinas, yet.  You could watch Star Trek and relate to Jordee Laforge. 

Also, last night you received your first dose of medicine to close your ductus arteriosis.  If the full course of medication doesn’t work, they’ll try again.  If that doesn’t work, it’s off to the operating table, little girl!  It’ll be interesting explaining these scars to you as you get older, should you accumulate many at the NICU.  I was thinking about creating a sort of mythology around it that would be fun for you to half believe, kind of like Santa Claus (except, remember, that in Santa Claus’s case, he is assuredly real).  I could explain that you were our clockwork daughter and that we wanted you so much that when you were hurt, we had to rebuild you from clock parts.  That if you felt your ribs closely enough, you could feel the gears creaking inside.

     

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