A Visit to the Opthamologist

Yesterday afternoon's visit was similar to several others we've experienced.

A bit of history here.... Due to Dawson's extreme prematurity at birth, his eyes were not completely developed. This caused him to have laser eye surgery at 3 months old. He now has a condition called ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). He is extremely nearsighted - the optometrist office says they couldn't put regular lenses into his glasses frames even if they tried because they would be so thick! (Hence the $450 glasses every year!)

Anyways...we had another trip to the pediatric opthamlogist yesterday at our regional hospital. Despite the less than desirable driving conditions on the way there, the full parking lots, and the very chilly, long walk to the office, we made it!

After waiting for an hour, we discovered that they'd forgotten about us! Oh well, we got in shortly thereafter, and had the miserable drops put into his eyes. I've been told they feel like shampoo. Poor kid - two people hold him down, the assistant in the office rips at his eyelids trying to keep them open as she inserts the dreaded drops. All the while, his head is banging against the neighboring wall as he is trying to evade us. The sticker at the end of the ordeal doesn't provide much consolation.

Thirty minutes later, we return to the office, after purchasing a snack at the nearby vendor and putting more money into the parking meter. We return to a cheerful doctor (which is an unusual occurrence in this setting), only to hold him down tight again - well, as tight as our muscles will let us! After I tried unsuccessfully to hold him still, our stonger-than-me respite worker successfully held him on her lap, his arms wrapped around his head, as I held the rest of his body down. The opthamologist got a little peek at the back of his retina and replies "Yip, it looks like it's still fine. Not detached." And return we will in about 4 months again!

Sure this is a terribly stressful day, but we're so thankful for the technology that we can watch his eyes carefully. You see, due to the ROP, the retina could detach at any time, which becomes a medical emergency. If not corrected immediately with surgery, he could become blind. The problem is that Dawson won't tell us if it gets detached. Hence, an ongoing concern whenever he removes his glasses to rub his eyes or looks at a book closely. Both signs that it may have detached.

For the time being, it's OK, so we're thankful. And we made it home that same night. Was Dawson ever glad to get home...and so were we!

Now on to another day-an early start again at 4:20am! Well, at least it's not 2:15!

Have an awesome day! -s