Well, most of my friends know via Facebook that we found out yesterday that Jaden is legally blind in his left eye. Looking back, I guess I should have understood the cues a little better. You know - he liked to read too close, sit too close to the tv, played DS really close. But he does other things completely normally - anything physical - baseball, soccer, at home football.
I went to the eye doctor to have MY eyes checked a few months ago. They said that the way my eyes are, that my kids eyes should really get checked. So we took the boys in. Josiah & Jedediah both have 20/20 vision. Rod went into the room with each of them while the rest of us sat in the waiting room. When it was Jaden's turn, I decided I wanted to see what they were testing. Well, it was obvious that his wasn't 20/20 or even anything close!
Jaden is good at schoolwork. But I haven't pushed him with his reading because something inside me said not to. Looking back I really believe it was the good Lord. Can you imagine me pushing a half blind kid to read? We both would have been frustrated!!! And I learned with Josiah - once a kids motivated.. they'll get it done in no time! So I wasn't too worried. So he knows all of his letters and many words.
Well, in the eye doctors office, he was getting the letters with his right eye right, but not his left. When they did the follow the pen - eyetracking thing... he can track fine, but when the pen gets close to his nose, his left eye turned in. The doctor said he hadn't seen anyone like Jaden before. Eyes track looking at a distance perfectly, but up close the left eye crosses.
He said that he didn't want to give him a perscription. And that he was going to refer us to a local eye surgeon. Uh, well, what, does, that, mean, exactly?? So he said that Jaden could need glasses, might need therapy, and might need surgery.
Well we waited a few months for his appt to come. Yesterday was the day. We go in and they check his eyes. I ask the lady to test with numbers or objects instead of letters, hoping that that might help him identify things with his left eye with poor vision.
They have him identifying things like a cake, a bike, a car, a chick, etc. His right eye, he read all the way down the chart. His left eye, the poor eye, he couldn't make out the birthday cake object at the very top of the chart. You know the one that is normally the big E? Yah.
So after the surgeon did some tests, he told us that Jaden is legally blind in his left eye. Good vision in his right. That he may eventually need things like surgery, but they want to try other things first. So, first off, he's going to wear glasses. They are supposed to help relax his eyes enough for them to stop crossing. Second, buy some medical tape, you are going to be patching his eye - in hopes of strengthening the eye and making it work. Probably for quite some time. He must build up to wearing the patch for all but 2 hours each day. He forwarned us, Jaden's going to hate it. He's going to complain and probably beg us not to wear it. The patch is so that Jaden's left eye will hopefully strengthen enough so that he will have legal vision in it. Wow, I'm glad Rod was sittting next to me. Did I hear him right?
He hands me a sheet of paper on how to "make" an eyepatch. Don't you just buy a black eye patch and call it good? I guess kids try to peek out of that kind of patch - so it must be taped on. He said that we'll know whether or not his eye is working better because he'll be able to do more and will complain less.
After the appt. - we stopped by a medical supply store and bought 2 each of 2 kinds of medical tape.
We stopped by our original eye doctors office to order Jaden's glasses. Which won't be in for four to six weeks... then we went to pick up the rest of the kiddos from the grandparents and spill the news.
His next appt is in November - to see how he's doing. If his eye is taking in info or not.
Then we get home. I'm just taking it all in. Jaden's feeling odd because of his eyes being dialated... so he's not feeling right to begin with. Rod runs an errand to the store with Julia. I decided to practice making an eyepatch. I make it - and put it on him. At first no problem.
About a half an hour later - the child is in tears. Asking me to take it off. Why can't they just do surgery mommy? Can't we just let my eye be bad? I can see with my good eye mommy. He cried and cried and cried. It was as if he was mourning the loss. It hit me hard. He was trying to play legos in the middle of the floor with the patch on and crying and saying things like... I can't see the legos mommy. Deep breath. He asks later to take it off. I say yes, but tomorrow it has to stay on for quite awhile. Jedediah makes fun of him unintentionally - (I make an eyepatch for Jed to wear and let him know that he needs to understand what it feels like - so that he won't have any desire to make fun of him then! I wasn't mean... Jedediah now understands.)
Rod and Julia return. We get the kids to bed. I break down and cry. Obviously, I want this to be done so that he can see better - but it was heartbreaking to watch him figure out what is going to happen for the next few months. At least 2 months - probably 6 months or more.
Today went well. Jaden wore it in the morning-afternoon for about 5 hours. He did really well until a friend came over to play and he asked to take it off. The surgeon said that he can work into the long hours, so I said yes - he'd wore it long enough for his first day. Great job Jaden!!! It'll be worth it in the end!
I'm really glad we're doing this, but it doesn't feel easy emotionally. Thanks to our friends who've been praying... much appreciated. I guess if I can really be thankful for something, I'm glad we didn't wait any longer to take him in. That there's still the possibility of better vision for him. And I'm thankful for kind eye doctors and kind eye surgeons.
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