Welcome to my blog!
You probably found me because you just found out your child may have strabismus or some other eye condition. Maybe you're scared. It's ok. I am too.
My husband and I took our 21-month-old son to the pediatric ophthalmologist yesterday. The doctor more or less confirmed what a few weeks of research had led us to believe: our son is far-sighted with accommodative esotropia, which is a form of strabismus.
About three weeks ago we noticed our perfect and healthy son had started to exhibit a strange "cross eye" at times. Some days it wasn't there at all, other days it happened off and on all day. His right eye would turn in to his nose, though his left eye was fine. I looked it up online and found out it was probably happening because he was having trouble focusing and the brain was telling his right eye to "shut off" so he wouldn't have double vision.
Although we had believed it was only his right eye that was affected, the doctor yesterday confirmed the strabismus is definitely in both of his eyes.
The doctor prescribed glasses. Which, in the grand scheme of things, is not the end of the world. But hearing that our feisty, determined toddler will have to wear glasses is a wee bit upsetting. How will we get him to wear glasses all day, every day, for the rest of his life?? If your small tot is anything like mine, he will repeatedly rip them off his face, arch his back, kick his legs, and proceed to have a mini-meltdown at the mere idea!
It'll be a struggle for our sweet son. Even if the glasses make his life only 2% more difficult, that's 2% more difficult than he deserves.
Beyond the short-term struggle of getting our toddler to wear his glasses successfully, there is also the long-term worry. It's not just the glasses, if we're being honest. It's about so much more than that, right?
After all, the glasses are literally the first step to correct our son's eye problems. But if the glasses don't fix his intermittent eye-crossing, we may have to step up the approach. That could include patches, vision therapy, and surgery. And from my initial research, it's often multiple surgeries, and the surgical results aren't always 100% effective.
We all want the very best for our children. Glasses, like I said earlier, are certainly not the worst thing to happen to our kids. But it's a crappy reality for our sweet and active tot who likes to run and play and be a rambunctious little boy.
How will wearing glasses affect his energy and vitality and love of life? Will he be teased? Will he be able to jump in the pool or splash at the ocean? Will he be able to play sports? Will he break his glasses? Will he lose them? Will wearing (or not wearing) the glasses affect his ability to learn to read or succeed in school?
Why did I have to pass on sub-par genetics to my child? Was it something I ate (or didn't eat) while pregnant? Am I a terrible mom? Should I have forced more Vitamin A-rich sweet potatoes and carrots down his throat as a baby?
Those are just a few of the questions swirling through my mind this early morning in November...
Have you ever thought your child's poor vision was your fault as a parent? Welcome to the club. I certainly don't know WHY my toddler has been diagnosed with double strabismus and accommodative esotropia, but come hell or high water, I will research as much as possible to ensure he has the best outcomes, best vision, and best shot at complete success throughout his childhood and adulthood.
So that's where we are. I feel like we're on Day 2 of a very long journey ahead. Thanks for reading along in this blog. I hope to be able to share some of my research and help other parents going through this. And if you've ever been through this, please let me know what has worked for your child. I would love to hear your stories!
Oh, this sounds so familiar . We noticed Zoe's eyes crossing at 9 months, not all the time, but enough to worry us. Your post echos so closely how I felt when I learned Zoe would need glasses, especially your list of concerns.
ReplyDeleteLong story short, Zoe is in glasses now (well, not right now, she's sleeping at the moment), but she also needed surgery, which I had desperately hoped to avoid. And she needed to patch about a year ago after she developed mild amblyopia. That seems to have been resolved, too, but I'll admit, I'm terrified of the crossing or the amblyopia coming back. Still, as of our last appointments, her vision is good, and she has some stereovision as well.
Don't let anyone make you feel bad for being upset about this. Having a child this young in glasses isn't always easy (and it's certainly not cheap!). But please, please don't blame yourself. It sounds like you have a fantastic attitude and you're going to make sure his vision is corrected and develops correctly. That's awesome and not something to cause guilt.
I replied to your comment on Little Four Eyes, but I'll ask here, too. Is it all right for me to add your blog to our list of blogs? I'm planning on revamping the list soon.
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ReplyDeleteDr Madhu Karna Eye Specialist in India.
We just found out this morning that our son has accommodative esotropia and I am heartbroken! Like your post, I know I shouldn't be, there are certainly worse things that could happen, but I'm just so inexplicably sad to think that his perfect little face will now be hidden behind glasses for the forseeable future. I keep looking at pictures of him and imagining him with glasses :( I know I need to get it together and be positive for him and make sure he knows this is something that will help him, but it's hard. Like you I wonder about swimming and sports and teasing. So...can you tell me how it's going? It looks like it's been about 6 years for you. Thanks! Megan
ReplyDeleteboth my girls have Accommodative esotropia and have worn glasses since they were 3 and 14 months, they are now 4 and 2, I couldn't even imagine them without there little glasses on their cute little faces, it doesn't hide any of their beauty just enhances their beauty even more
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