Today we go in for Leo’s 18th laser treatment to help with his port wine stain. I get a lot of questions about the process so I thought I’d explain what happens.
Usually I feed Leo right before we head out to our appointment so he’ll hopefully fall asleep on the drive over. This has been more challenging as he gets older.
Once we get there we are always welcomed by the amazing staff and wait to be called back. Once they are ready for him the staff always encourage me to leave the room. But the ladies he’s with are so amazing. I call them Leo’s angels! They use a pulsed dye laser (Vbeam) and it takes about 60 seconds for them to complete. Yes, it’s uncomfortable, but it’s fast and once they stop he’s in no pain. No, this is not done under anesthesia and no he’s not given any numbing cream. Again, it’s fast but uncomfortable and thankfully there is no pain during recovery. Once they are done the ladies give him the warm bottle right away to soothe him. Then they walk him out to me and he’s content with his bottle. He’s never been too upset once they bring him out! Always calm and eating. Once I finish feeding him we schedule for his next appointment in two weeks, giving him enough time to heal!
You’ll notice on his face after a treatment he’ll have little bruises where the laser hits...we like to call those his angel kisses!
Let me just say, this is hard on me and I don’t like that we have to do this! However, with port wine stain, if untreated, it can darken over time, raise on the skin or even cause deformities. We are doing the right thing for our sweet boy under the guidance of our amazing team of doctors and pray he continues to respond well. I’m also extremely thankful we have the means to do this. Thank you friends for your prayers and support! We love you!
