Hemangi-what?

Rough day for Romy Raye




About a month ago I noticed Romy's left eye was a little swollen. I thought maybe she hit herself or maybe I accidently smacked her with her car seat buckle. She had a doctor's appointment a few days later, and I mentioned it. Her doctor didn't seem too concerned. She thought it was some water retention or maybe a blood clot from her previous eye exam. It didn't seem to be hurting Romy any so I didn't really worry too much. BUT then.... a few days later it was noticably larger, and was starting to turn reddish blue, like a black eye or something, so I made an appointment and they in turn sent me to see an ophthamalogist. Turns out little dramatic Romy Raye has a deep hemangioma. Here's a definiton of what it is:

Deep hemangiomas (cavernous hemangiomas) grow within the skin and deep beneath it. They cause the skin to bulge and may be purple or, if they are very deep, flesh-colored. Most deep hemangiomas grow between ¼ inch and 2 inches across, although sometimes they grow much larger.

So it's a type of birthmark that's somewhat common in caucasian females, especially those whom are pre mature. It will continue to grow for 1 to 2 years and slowly fade away after that. But since it's so close to her eye, they're going to do an MRI and check it out some. If they think it will interfere with her vision they'll either start steroid treatments, or if it's growing rapidly; surgically remove it. But other than that and being nearsighted (she'll require glasses in a few years) her eyes look good. The laser surgery did it's job.

She's pushing 8 pounds and is around 18 inches long. She has yet to coo or smile directly at me. For some reason she smiles in her sleep or at her glow worm, but not at people. She loves to look at pictures of people or stare at your face. And when I kiss her on the lips, she kind of puckers her own lips. She is so funny. And boy is she a cute one.