“What can you see now Silas?” the nurse asked as she turned the picture to the biggest one avaliable.
“I don’t see anything.” He replied.
My heart broke. My stomach was sick at the thought that he had lived three years without being able to see out of his left eye. I had NO idea he couldn’t see. There had been no evidence that he couldn’t see. He could catch a ball, hit a ball off a tee, color in the lines of a picture. . . and so on. He could function like a child with normal vision. That was why I was so heartbroken.
What could I have done to help him? Why didn’t I know? What could I have done differently? The questions raced in my head! The guilt was so heavy. The burden was great and made me wish I could carry his burden for him. As a person who has a hearing loss and wears hearing aids, I understand the struggles a person has when one of their senses is not working and the stress that can cause. I did not want that for my son!
After talking to the doctor we learned that since he was not able to see out of that eye, his muscles had stopped working because his brain was telling those muscles they weren’t needed. This caused his eye to turn in and not work properly.
With a sad heart I asked, “What do we do about this? How do we help him see?” The doctor said we needed to patch his eye and wear glasses to help strengthen his bad eye to see if we can regain some vision. The doctor also told us that if patching didn’t work then surgery would be needed. (Not what a mama wants to hear about her three year old.)
So our journey began that day. . . patching everyday for 2-3 hours and three pairs of glasses, each with a different prescription (We are finally at the right prescription now, hooray!)
I want to encourage you to be proactive and learn from our journey. I want to share with you three ways to protect your child’s vision.
1: Always get a yearly checkup with their pediatrician!
This is initially how we learned something was wrong. Our pediatrician has a camera that looks like an iPhone which takes a picture of the child’s eyes. The result of the picture should show two round circles. Silas’ kept showing one full circle and one half circle. So the pediatrician said he should go see an ophthalmologist just to rule out any issues. This test is done for infants up to five years of age, at which point they allow them to read an eye chart.
2: Be your child’s advocate!
If you feel like the results the doctor has given you don’t line up with what you know about your child, keep searching. Don’t give up on your child’s vision! With Silas we went to three doctors before we finally got the right prescription. It was after seeing the third doctor that we felt like we were finally headed in the right direction with a solid game plan.
If you don’t keep looking for answers it may lead to something much more serious down the road. We learned that if we would’ve waited until Silas was ten or older there would have been pretty much no hope for him to regain sight in his left eye. But since we caught it early there is a chance that he can gain eyesight back into that eye.
3: Find the best “equipment” to aid your child’s vision.
There are so many different places to get glasses, contacts, patches, and sunglasses these days, but it is so important for you to find the BEST “equipment” for your child’s needs. Our four children are VERY active and we needed to find patches and glasses that would keep up with that VERY active lifestyle.
What we found made us feel like we had hit the jackpot!! We found a company that sells glasses that are unbreakable, which was EXACTLY what we needed for our active little boy.
The company is Goggles N More.
They offer kids (and adult) prescription glasses, sports goggles, swimming goggles, and more. These glasses are awesome because they don’t have hinges that require screws and can be bent forwards, backwards, or any direction. The hinges slide in and out, making them very versatile.
My favorite thing about the hinges can be best explained with a story. Silas was going upstairs one night to go to bed and he missed a step and fell flat on his face. He hit his forehead and the glasses. The glasses didn’t break because of the ingenious way they are made! The hinges just slid apart, and we were able to just slide them right back together. They are made of a smooth durable plastic and didn’t cut Silas’ face.
My other favorite thing is the detachable head strap and ear hooks. This is a deal breaker for me! I keep going back to Goggles N More because they are the only kid’s glasses I can find that offer this option as a part of the price of the glasses. Why is this so important to me? Because as Silas is running around playing his glasses stay in place and he never drops them or loses them. I feel like it keeps my investment safe.
We have purchased THREE pair from Goggles N More and highly recommend their products! (We are going to be buying Silas some prescription swimming goggles for the summer soon.) Each pair of glasses comes with the frames, lenses, ear hooks, head strap, carrying case, and cleaning cloth.
You should go browse their website. It is so fun to look at all the different products they offer. http://www.gogglesnmore.comLike I mentioned earlier in my story, Silas has had to patch his right eye everyday for 2-3 hours. Ortopad cotton adhesive patches are they way to go. He doesn’t complain of them hurting his eye and they move with him.
Ortopad also sells these incentive charts (boys and girls) which are a huge help as we try to motivate Silas to wear his patch. Both the girl and boy versions are available on Amazon.
Ortopad Eye Patching Reward Poster
We are so thankful for all the knowledgeable people that have helped us from day one! We are confident that we are on the right path to helping Silas’ eyesight improve thanks to doctors, nurses, Goggles N More, and Ortopad. I hope our story helps you to feel more confident as you protect your children’s eyesight.
I’d love to hear from you! What are your thoughts on protecting your child’s eyesight?
