So we had Emily's eye appointment this morning. Dr. Musgrove is very nice and her staff is amazing, so that make everything easier! She had to have her eyes dilated again- which she DOES not like! It was worse this time because she already knew what was coming! But it got done and she does not have to have it again at the next visit thankfully!
She definitely has a vision issue of the right eye. Strabismus Amblyopia (Esotopia) Dr. Musgrove feels she would like to postpone surgery and attempt simply glasses ( a much stronger prescription than she currently has) and patching for a minimum of 2 hours a day (up to 6).
We have an appointment on June 26 and Dr. Musgrove will evaluate the progress she has made and decide on further treatment which could include: continued patching, medication and surgery.
She gave me some websites to read up on things:
American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Children's Eye Foundation (Amblyopia 411)
Amblyopia is THE leading cause of childrens loss of vision (it equals to all the other ways of losing vision combined)
GO GET YOUR CHILRENDS EYES CHECKED!
This should be done starting at age 3, earlier if your family has a history of eye issues....Please take the time to do this. People worry about their kids TEETH more than they worry about their vision- the sense that is the most widely used out of all our senses.
The patches are CUTE! There are all kinds of designs and she gave us some samples and a website to order more from...
some of the choices are...
regular designed patches...
a non adhesive patch
We even found COLOR your own patches here!
and CRAFT PATCHES
If you notice her glasses in the top picture they are DIFFERENT! It was cheaper to get TWO new pairs of glasses at eye masters in an hour, than order new lenses for her glasses that would take two weeks! CRAZY! We will possible get the correct prescription put in her other glasses- we are waiting to hear back from insurance right now. BUT regardless we felt like waiting 2 plus weeks was not a good option.
The doctor has said she ABSOLUTELY has to be wearing them all the time unless she is at gymnastics and they are actually falling off because of the gymnastics.
We have already done 40 minutes of patching today- gone through 3 patches and it is loads of fun!
She can't for obvious reasons see well out of her right eye and is BEYOND frustrated! I shall have the fruit of patience pruned apparently! And it isn't like she is already dramatic, right!
Some options that are best scenario during patching are DOING things.
-some reading
-video games (the smaller the screen the better)
-crafting
-coloring and writing
-word searches
-Find Waldo type searches
-puzzles
-going to the play ground
-tossing beanbags or balls around
Basically anything that require visual acuity and eye-hand coordination work well.
Doctors would prefer her not doing school work the entire 2 hours she is patched...
2 reasons for this are:
She will get very tired from "working" her eye, and this may result in poor school performance
She needs some specific hand eye coordination and simple writing and reading do not meet this need
So we shall be adjusting our day around this. I hesitate to "make" her wear her patch out, right now she has NO reason to think it is anything but COOL and okay... if made fun of- well that is a whole different issue! So for now I will attempt to keep this at home and will try to adjust our day accordingly! Any thoughts on that???
4 comments:
Oh no, poor Emily! I will be praying for healing and patience for you and her.
It is really neat that they have so many options for kids though :)
I had no idea there were so many cute and creative options for eye patches! I'm sorry your little one is having to deal with this (and you too!) I'm hoping with you that the glasses and patching do the trick instead of surgery.
Sweetheart had a little boy in her first grade class who wore a patch. I think kids would just be concerned she hurt her eye. No...the doctor just wants her to cover her good eye so her other eye can get exercise. Oh. Ok. No big deal.
THAT is really going to help you get school done, BTW.
The patches are really cute! And, I can't believe how much your kids have grown...wow!
Thanks for the post on my blog. We are blessed to have come home when we did & not to have been in Japan when the big earthquake & tsunami hit.
The people we were concerned about are actually my brother's best friend's wife's grandparents. :-) Yes, they were heard from and were safe. I haven't heard since then (about a week ago), but I worry about them (& all those in Japan) with all that is going on. I just keep praying for them!
Post a Comment