Yesterday, Simon had a check-up on his eyes. You might remember that he has Accomodative Esotropia, or the medical term for crossed eyes. His glasses are an effort for correction, and we went back to the doctor to check on his progress. He goes to Children's Mercy in Kansas City. Since he had an appointment first thing in the morning, we spent the night at a hotel the night before. Eliza thought this was great fun; Simon wanted to go home as soon as he saw his pajamas come out. Let's just say it was a very long night.
So far, glasses aren't helping as much as we'd hoped they might. This means that starting today (right after nap, actually) we will begin patching his right eye in order to strengthen his left. He will have to wear the patch for two hours every day. As mama, I'm a little nervous about this because I forsee him constantly messing with the patch. He's a stubborn, willful little guy, going through a phase of tantrums. I'm hoping that he'll take to them better than I anticipate, as he did his glasses, but the patches are adhesive and they will obstruct his vision rather than directly helping it. My hope is slim.
The doctor told Nick (who was the one to take him; Eliza, Levi and I stayed at the hotel) that she anticipates he'll need surgery. We have another appointment at the end of April to check his progress. There is hope that the patches will help and we can forestall the surgery. From what Nick told me afterwards, however, the doctor feels surgery is a pretty sure thing. The purpose of the surgery will be to lengthen the muscle that is turning his eye inward. There are lots of technical details about that, which I'm not going to worry about just yet. Let's see how we do with patching and wait to hear what the doctor has to say in April. Then, I'll worry. Then, we'll see what all surgery will entail. For now, I'm taking a wait-and-see attitude. That attitude is a saving grace, because I'm truly not worried or uptight about the possibility. Better yet, though, I know my son is in God's hands, and that God loves him even more than I do. (Hard to imagine, as I adore that boy!) I trust Him to take care of my Simon.
In the next few weeks, you might be looking for pics of Simon's new glasses. His prescription changes, and we went ahead and decided to fork over the money for some Miraflex frames. These are nylon frames that are bendable and pretty much indestructable. We let him try on a sample in the office at Children's Mercy. He immediately started smiling. When we tried to put his old ones on (which he doesn't like to be without), he surprised us by taking them off and throwing them on the floor! While this was a more expensive option than just replacing his current lenses, we feel we've made the right decision. There are times the nose pieces seem to bother him and the frames he wears now often need adjustments from his various spills, mishaps, and how often they go on-and-off. These will not have any of those issues. As often as this poor kid hits his head and falls down, I won't have to worry about his face getting cut again from his glasses. Plus, we picked out a fun new color. Keep yours open. ;)
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