Abby's Surgery

About a few months ago I noticed a strange pea sized lump below Abby's brow bone. Right on the outside corner of her eye. I had noticed it before, but only when she had an allergic reaction to something, i.e., dogs, etc., but it would go away. This time it never went away! I took Abbs to her pediatrician, and she referred me to a doctor at the prestigious eye institute in town. (It's part of the Children's Hospital here; remarkable place!) He thought it was a cyst, so he referred me to a surgeon at the conjoining eye institute right next door. This doctor confirmed that it is indeed a cyst-like mass; a dermoid cyst to be exact. Completely benign and harmless. Basically, when you're a baby, your skull is in sections. Almost like "fault lines", if you will. This is to compensate for your growing brain. One of the sections is split right on the edges of the brow bone. As you get older, these sections fuse together with natural "sutures" that are holding the sections of your skull together. Normally, these sutures fuse together smoothly, and cause no problems. Sometimes, as with Abby's case, the sutures will fuse together, but they bulge at the convergence line. (I liken it to glue pooching out when you use too much.) It causes no pain or problems, but is a bit unsightly. It makes her eyelid appear droopy. What makes it worse is that she is conscious of it being there. If I look at her sometimes, she'll say, "Stop looking at my eye!" That is heartbreaking! I never want her to be self-conscious of anything; especially at 2 1/2! So, on December 12, she goes into surgery to have it removed. Amazingly, she will not require an MRI, as the doctor says he will have the mass inspected by pathology doctors once it is removed. Yay! I'm so relieved! My mind always goes to the worst possible place when I think my daughter is sick. I needed the doctor to tell me that everything is just fine. And it is!! :)