There have been moments in our journey that will forever be etched in my mind. Moments when the overwhelmingness of it all caused uncontrollable tears to run down my face. Some of those moments stemmed from receiving heartbreaking news, others have stemmed from what I believe are answered prayers.

Dr. Ken Nischal is literally a WORLD renowned Pediatric Opthalmologist who specializes in rare eye diseases that affect the cornea. Further, he is one of only a handful of specialists who have treated multiple children that have been diagnosed with Peters Plus. 

Yesterday, Morgan and I decided to email him. We shared with him Birdie’s story and the news that we had received about her eyes. I thanked him and left my cell phone. 

An hour later my phone rang. It was a Pittsburgh, PA number. It was Dr. Nischal. The first thing he said was not to give up hope on Birdie’s eyesight yet. That was all it took. Morgan and I were both in complete tears. He asked what we saw when we looked into Birdie’s eyes and then briefly explained the eye issues that children with Peters Plus and Peters Anomaly suffer from. This information wasn’t coming from some case study out of a book. It was coming from someone who has treated these children. 

He then gave us his cell phone and asked that we send him pictures of Birdie’s eyes. He looked at the pictures and has already been in contact with our NICU doctor and is directing her on some preventative measures we can try and take while we are here. Then, once Birdie is stable enough and discharged from the hospital, we will be headed to Pennsylvania to meet with him and discuss her treatment options. 

This man, who is the best of the best in his field, a pioneer if you will, took time out of his day to call two parents who were lost and unsure how to help their baby. We are far from being out of the woods, but thanks to his kindness, his compassion, and his willingness to treat Birdie, we now have proper guidance on her eye condition. 

Having Dr. Ken Nischal as part of Birdie’s medical team is truly an answered prayer. One worth crying over.

I cannot post this without thanking each and every one of you who not only prayed for Birdie but also reached out to us to provide any help you could. From researching names of doctors to offering places to stay if we happened to end up in your city. It was amazing! I’ve said it before, but the love that everyone has shown our little girl has been so inspiring to us.

#birdiesblessings #birdiewatchers