Aunt JT's Garden...

Recently, my sister-in-law - JT, invited the kids and myself (T Rex Dad was working) out to her place to pick veggies and collect blackberries. 

I have to admit, I was pretty stingy with the kids with our blackberry bushes. I let them pick a few but ours were so few that I needed every last one to do my jam. Hence, I would often sneaked out at night after they were in bed and collect the berries. I was glad JT had plenty of berries for the kids to pick. So many they were literally falling off the bushes.

It was truly a fun experience for the kids. Thank you, JT. We were glad to keep you company on your anniversary while your sweet heart was out of town. 

I'll tell more via photos...

First we started with the blackberry bushes. Her bushes are much bigger and taller than ours. The kids enjoyed walking under the bushes and picking the ones at their level or lower.

Examining a giant sunflower that had fallen.

Picking some veggies.

Green beans.

Onions.

Carrots.

 

Tomatoes.

Potatoes (yes, we grow them big in Idaho!)

We had stone soup and blackberry pie for dinner sharing all of it with Grandma and Grandpa who brought over a couple of cool surprises. More on that in the next posting...

P.S. This visit was immediately following T Rex's eye appointment were we learned he can now see 20/20 in both eyes with his corrective lenses. Significant improvement from where we started 3 years ago at 20/200 in the left eye and 20/60 in the right. We can now decrease his patching from 2 hours a day to 1 hour every other day. Oh, and no surgery either. He was also a model patient. He totally has the eye examination thing down. We are grateful and happy about the news and proud of our little guy's behavior and compliance with his eye regimen and exam.

Eye Exams...

This week the kids had their ophthalmology appointments. T Rex went in for a follow-up. Due to his amblyopia and strabismus, he sees the pediatric ophthalmologist every 3-5 months. They keep very close watch on him. Bebe Sister is at risk for the same disorder due to the nature of genetics so she needed to have an initial screening between 18 and 24 months. She just turned 21 months so the timing was perfect. We decided it would be best to deal with two grumpy kids at one appointment than separately.


Actually we were preparing for the worst since T Rex was the same age during his first ophthalmology appointment and it was disastrous. We were all in tears after it was done. I would have been mortified if we would have had to do patching at that point. However, now we are doing patching with him for 1-2 hours per day. This has been part of the routine for at least a year and with the homemade patch I have for him, he doesn't mind too much. The best news - his vision is now 20/20 in both eyes. His right eye is still dominant but his left (weak) eye is fully functioning and the brain is recognizing it. He still does not have depth perception, but we're getting there. The doctor commended him on his progress and good work - patching is tough. It makes his weak eye work hard, he sometimes complains of headaches, and I know the patch can be uncomfortable as well as a bit embarrassing to wear. However, we are all so proud him and  his progress.


Bebe Sister watched her brother during the exam. Because she has dark eyes and not blue like her brother (another one of those weird gene things - where did his blue eyes come from?), she had to have two separate drops for dilating rather than one type. She barely flinched while the drops were put in. She never complained once except to say she needed to use the restroom. She happily watched her brother during his exam and when it was her turn she jumped up and climbed onto the chair. She was perfect for the doctor - not a peep. Dr. KW was able to get a thorough look inside her eyes. The verdict - she is 100%. No refractory problems, no crossing, nothing. We do need to continue to monitor her with annual exams but at this point, she is good to go. I think she was disappointed to not get glasses like her brother but she did perk up when she was given special sunglasses due to the pupil dilation that would remain for up to 24 hours.

Initially, I think both kids were a little nervous for their exams (see first photo). However, by the end, they were all giggles. 

We celebrated by visiting the fish tank at another medical office in the same building (where T Rex goes for his allergy/asthma appointments) and then lunch with Nana. 

My mom accompanied me to the appointment as T Rex Dad has a deployment at work this week and has been working long hours. I was really expecting the worst for this appointment but was more than pleasantly surprised by the outcome and the ease of the exams. All those prayers we said paid off!

School update: I survived midterms last week and T Rex Dad and the kids survived my high stress. I even managed to turn in a paper during that week, too. This week I saw a patient that looked a lot like Abraham Lincoln - bonus points for the person who can guess what kind of disorder one might have that would make him resemble my favorite President. A homemade treat/craft if you are correct and did not have to look it up.

Follow Up...

Today T Rex had his comprehensive eye exam follow up with the pediatric ophthalmologist. Having a two and a half year old sit still, have dilating drops put in his eyes, and then being examined makes for a very long two hour appointment.

However, he was so good and T Rex Princess was a total angel. We were feeling very blessed albeit exhausted after we left the office.

When they performed the acuity portion of his exam it was evident that the one eye is just not being utilized. This means we need to start patching the dominant eye so the other eye gets accustomed to being used and the brain does not begin shutting down the non-dominant eye. Fortunately, because he is still so young and his brain is still very "plastic" as the doctor put it, he only needs to wear the patch 1-2 hours per day.

Next thing you're probably asking - does he keep it on? Well, see for yourself...

He wore this particular patch for 3 hours today. He is wearing the sticky bandage style here but I made a fleece patch to go over his glasses. I did not realize patches are so expensive. Even the reusable fleece ones are $10-$20. I made this one out of scraps - I sewed velcro strips into it to keep it over the lenses and also to wrap around the side to prevent even the slightest amount of peeking. Plus, it does not leave any red marks like the adhesive from the bandage style left.

We have another follow up in three months but it will not be a lengthy visit like this one. Here's hoping patching gets things on track so we can completely avoid surgery down the road.

I am so grateful T Rex Dad (my husband of nine years as of tomorrow) really advocated to our pediatrician that something was not normal with our son's eyes. The longer these kids wait to get the strabismus corrected, the less chance of restoring them to normal aligned vision. If you suspect something is off with your child's eyes, get it checked right away.

So What's My Problem???

Today we took T Rex in for a comprehensive eye exam with a specialist. We've been noticing some strange things with his eyes. And then the past couple months he's been covering one eye when he looks at close objects. Worried about permanent issues down the road, we wanted this looked into.

Well, after 2 hours of testing (very traumatic for child and parents), the pediatric ophthalmologist concluded a diagnosis of strabismus due to severe far-sightedness. She honestly could not believe that T Rex knows his letters and can even look at books with as poor as his close up vision is. The treatment, glasses - big, thick glasses.

As traumatic as the examination was - holding a screaming toddler down with dilated pupils, I was more upset that my little guy was going to have to wear glasses the rest of his life. Everything I've read thus far says young kids, especially T Rex's age, adapt quickly and adjust nicely to glasses.

So I ask, what's my problem? Why am I so upset by this?

I, too, have horrible vision but I have the total opposite problem. I'm nearsighted. I can read fine without my glasses or contacts but anything past about 18-24 inches and I can barely make out the color. Dr. W put some lenses up to my eyes and then had me cross my eyes. When I crossed my eyes, I could see better. Evidently, that's what's happening with T Rex. He's trying to adapt to his vision abnormality and the only way he can see close up is by crossing his eyes. With glasses he should stop crossing his eyes and the "weak" eye will start working again.

I'm glad we don't have to patch his eye or even do surgery. But vision correction the rest of his life? He's not even yet two?!? I just feel like I've let my child down. Of course, it's nothing I've done - not caused by anything in utero or trauma. Mostly likely genetic and probably not even my genes being expressed here. So, again, what is my problem?

It's not like T Rex has cancer or some debilitating ailment. It's just glasses for goodness sake. I'm grateful that is all it is. I just don't understand why I'm having such a struggle with this.

I started wearing big, thick glasses when I was eight. I was teased horribly for years until I started wearing contacts. I didn't even get to wear stylish frames. I always joke that I'm still the total geek who loves Star Wars, Star Trek, and watching Big Bang Theory. But back then, I even looked like a geek. And, yes, I was rediculed for it. I over-compensated a bit by becoming head cheerleader in high school but it never really stopped the stinging of the stigma I suffered from being "geeky four-eyes". I just don't want my son suffering like I did.

Maybe I'm just feeling hormonal. I can still use that excuse. But, seriously, am I out of line for having these thoughts and feelings running through my head?