The children both had eye appointments this morning - at 8am. Ugh. That was early for kids who are out of the routine of getting up and out early but we succeeded and were there in plenty of time.
The kids now have vision coverage through Kaiser so I was a bit apprehensive at the change in providers as the kids and I both adore Dr. Shelby and I trust him completely with our eyes.
Imagine my surprise to learn that the eye doctor at Kaiser went to school with Dr. Shelby and that a group of four former classmates, who are in the area, get together once a month to talk about cases and study stuff together. My stress level reduced greatly. He is a really friendly guy and was great with the kids.
So that's the good news.
The not so good? Glasses all around.
Kelton needs a minor correction which will help with reading and computer work and he is thrilled! He has been wanting glasses since Kaylen got hers last year. I had already told him that if he didn't need glasses, I would order an inexpensive pair through an online site with lenses without correction.
Kaylen. Well....that's a bird of a different color. If you remember from last year, I learned Kaylen has significant vision issues. Those issues are alive and well. Her right eye is weaker than her left and both eyes need double the correction that she has currently. Right now, her correction is sitting at a +2.25 for both eyes, which I already knew isn't where she was going to end up (she is testing out at needing a +6 and +7.5 eventually but that is too strong for her right now). Today's testing is putting her into lenses that are a +4 and a +4.75 but get this: she also has to wear an eye patch for 2 hours a day to help her strengthen her weaker eye.
Her right eye is still turning but now it's a stronger turn. It's because the msucles in it aren't as strong and has to work harder and, therefore, when it gets tired, her brain tries to turn it off and the way it does that is to turn it inward so the brain doesn't have to pick up its messages. I'm sure it's more scientific than that but that is what my muddled brain picked up from the conversation. I have to say, it wasn't was I was expecting. Something else I wasn't expecting was the level of guilt that washed over me.
I should have taken her in sooner.....but it has only been 7 months since she was last seen. The doctor said not to beat myself up. As a mom...is that even possible?
I have a million guilty feelings about her birth. Maybe I should have decided to have a VBAC which would have given her a little more time and would have maybe forced her through the birth canal so she wouldn't have ingested fluid and maybe, just maybe, wouldn't have had breathing issues. How much did that one choice to have a planned repeat c-section influence her vision issues?
Her donor had perfect vision. I had perfect vision until I needed reading glasses in my 30's and then moved to full time glasses in my 40's. Yes....glitches happen. Things happen. Maybe there were other reasons why the c-section was the best route. I will never, ever know but the guilt I have sits right in the middle of my chest. Mommy guilt at it's best.
But...we are where we are. So here we are.
Kaylen needs to go in again in 3 months for a big dilation appointment. Her eyes are working so hard that the doctor couldn't get a clear look in because the muscles absolutely won't relax. Poor baby. The drug they will use for dilation will last approximately 24 hours and will make it so she cannot focus at all during the 24 hours. It also has a side effect of making a child drowsy. The doctor wants to wait until after the bright summer days are over because it will make it easier for her. I actually give him a lot of credit for that. He also said his findings of that appointment wouldn't change the prescription for today but it will give a good picture of where she is heading.
He also mentioned that we might want to consider contact lenses for her because her glasses are going to start getting very thick. :(
The good news? She got to pick out new frames today and she loves them. I'm not crazy about them - I much prefer the ones she has now though they have had better days. They are dented pretty good from her fall at the roller skating rink a few months back. The new ones are from the Disney Princess line (of course!) and are pink and purple (of course!).
Kelton chose from the Banana Republic line, which was a concession on his part. He wanted a pair of black and white boys glasses from the Sketcher line but because of his adult sized head (poor kid) he had to go for the adult lines...which are a bit too big. Too big is better than too small though so.... (In case you are wondering...I don't so much care for his choice either but if there is one thing I know, it isn't worth the fight. If they like them, that's good enough.)
In a week or so I will have two kiddos with glasses. Photos of the three of us ought to be interesting. Nothing like trying to minimize flash glare on three sets of glasses. Hee hee. :)
Here are a few quick photos I took of them trying on their new frames. And one of Kaylen with her eye patch.
(for the record - Kaylen was less than thrilled to be having her picture taken and her hair? Yeah....ummm...she wants to grow it out "princess long" so it's kinda a wreck. *sigh*)
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