To See the World Clearly



(photo of a glossy print, sorry)

Micah's eye procedure went very well this morning. It was quick, easy, and should produce some great results. The doctor will return tomorrow to check on her progress, because it starts to work that quickly! We were able to be there with her, and our Ahava is recovering nicely. Surprisingly, this was actually Micah's first truly invasive procedure. She really is doing well overall. There are some many potential issues for micro-preemie's that she has been spared, because of God's grace and your prayers.


(I know, she isn't a micro-preemie anymore. She is closer to 4 pounds now than to 3. Perhaps I'm in denial about how quickly she is growing up.)



(same photo, different lighting)

I'll try to explain the picture a little bit: This is Micah's eye, or more precisely, a portion of the back of her eye. The image the camera takes is circular, giving the illusion that you are seeing the whole thing now matter how closely you zoom in. This is about 1/4 of the back 1/3rd of her eye. Helpful? No? That's ok. I'll move on.

The ring on the left side is her optic nerve, and the lines coming out of it are blood vessels. The orange part is the functional part of the retina, covered by blood vessels. The grey part is retinal tissue that is not covered by those blood vessels yet. The idea is that the blood vessels grow out and cover the whole surface, thus bringing blood, life, and sight to the whole retinal surface.

(Second Eye: The red spot in the upper left is from ruptured capillaries.
The optic nerve barely visible in the lower right corner.)

Micah's blood vessels are thicker and more contorted ("tortuous") than they should be, and in the original picture you can see a distinct border between the covered area and the uncovered area. This indicates ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity), a fairly common problem for babies like our little girl. Because of the extra oxygen Micah needs to survive outside of the womb, the normal extension of those blood vessels in thin, straight, progressive lines has encountered a snag, literally. The O2 triggers the veins and arteries to close their circuit too soon, creating final capillaries when they should continue to cover the surface for several months before doing this. These capillaries form clusters, keep the vessels from growing longer, and in one place (third picture) can burst. Those capillaries create pressure on the tiny veins, causing them to twist and thicken across the surface of the retina. The stress of this process can even cause the retina to separate from the inner lining of the eye, causing total (rather than partial) blindness.

Safe and Sound with Mama

Currently, the diameter of Micah's blood flow coverage is less than 1/2 of what it eventually needs to be for normal vision. Untreated (even if she maintains her current sight, which might not happen), she would likely be extremely near-sighted and have no peripheral vision. Fortunately, this new procedure (6 years ago they had to use lasers, causing all sorts of permanent damage and complications just to preserve the little  sight babies had) seems to help prevent the short circuiting of the blood vessels, and allow them to "restart" their linear growth, extending the usable surface of the eye (in many cases almost completely!).

The goal is complete healing and 20/20 vision, which sounds ambitious, but isn't impossible, especially as we continue to lift up Micah Ahava Elise before the Lord Jesus, who made her, loves her, and has wonderful plans for her life.

Of course, I can't watch God work in Micah's life and not apply it to others: to myself, even to you.

God has plans for Micah, but God also has those same good plans for us. Even as He works through doctors and nurses to fix Micah's sight, perhaps He is working (even through these updates) on the way we see things as well. It's easy to believe that God desires good things for Micah. What has she ever done to deserve other than that? Yet, it can be hard to believe that God can love us in the same way. After all, we aren't babies. We aren't helpless victims. And, we certainly aren't innocent! We can see why God would love Micah, but us??

Jeremiah 1:5 says "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” This is a verse we received for Micah before she was born, and it is one the Lord spoke over my life several years ago as well. I wasn't a baby when I heard these words (neither was Jeremiah). I wasn't innocent or helpless. Well, at least not innocent! I don't imagine Jeremiah was either.

The point is that our sin doesn't surprise God when it happens. He doesn't love us when we are born (like Micah) and then stop loving us when we get older and start messing up (like Jeremiah, like myself; like you). God loved us when He created us and He loves us still.

The Bible says God knew you. That is, He knew all about you: Who you were. Where you would live. What you would be like. Even, how badly you might mess up your life. And, in the midst of all of that knowing you, God still loved you enough to send His Son Jesus to die for you. Before you could choose between right from wrong, before you ever even drew a breathe, God loved you... just like He loves Micah.

Has life damaged you? God can fix that. Have you been short-circuited? He can help you "restart". Is your world twisted and thick? Is it tortuous? God can bring you through it.

Just like Micah, God wants to love you. Just like Micah, God wants to heal you. Just like Micah, God wants to fix your eyes; help you see things the way you were designed to see them.

God can change the way we see the world. Jesus can heal us. It's what God wants! Why else would Jesus die for your sins if He didn't love you? Why else would you be reading about the amazing healing He is bringing to Micah if not for God to draw you closer to Himself? Why else would they call Him the Great Physician if He couldn't heal?

Now, there was one thing Olivia and I had to do before Micah could have this procedure today. It was a simple thing, not really a choice at all once we understood the situation and the possible outcomes for Micah. Yet, it was a decision we had to make. A choice no one else could make for us. A choice that would affect the rest of our lives, especially Micah's life. The doctor knew what Micah needed, knew how to do it, had all the medicine, equipment, and staff he needed to make it happen. But, he couldn't do anything until we gave him our permission. Without that, nothing further could be done. Without our permission, Micah could not get the help she needed this morning.

Of course, we were ready to sign on the dotted line right away. To refuse would be cruel and foolish. To refuse would be almost insane! To refuse to do so would be to condemn our daughter to a life of short-sightedness at best and complete blindness at the worst. Who would ever choose to do that!?

And yet, how many people hear God telling them day after day: "I can help. I know what to do. I want to heal you. I want you to be the way I designed you to be, to see the world clearly." And yet, these same people, day after day, refuse. They refuse to admit there is sickness. They refuse to admit they need help. They refuse to confess that they do not have what it takes to fix the problem. They refuse to let God work. Day after day, they refuse to see the world clearly, and they go through life growing more and more blind.

"One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

John 9:25