Read Part 1 of post –
So what was diagnosed from our visit to the eye specialist?
K has an eye disorder known as Estropia in his left eye which will become a permanent squint, if it is not addressed early in his life.
K’s eye disorder is a type of acquired estropia, as he is not born with the condition. He has perfect 6/6 vision on one eye, but slightly long-sighted on the left eye. Infants are actually borned with infantile estropia (long sightedness) in both eyes and will start to grow out of before they turn 7-8 months of age. Estropia was developed in his left eye when one eye gained his perfect sight earlier than his other eye, but he continued to have an over-reliance on the right eye and depended less on the left, hence, the term ‘lazy eye’ is used for this disorder.
The good news is that this condition is not neural related, phew! At 8-10 years of age when child’s eyes reach visual maturity, if discovered at an early stage, 60% of children with this condition will be weaned out of this problem (weaned was the exact word used in the handout that the eye specialist gave to explain the cause of this disorder).
He needs to wear glasses though (sob! which I teared over. I know I am being an idiot to cry over this, but I used to hate wearing glasses while growing up. It’s a vanity thing!). As well as an eye patch to cover his right eye for an average of 1-3 hours a day, so that he can train himself to use his left eye.
I still get upset thinking that my boy needs to wear glasses, as I have been making the effort and taking the precaution to teach him to take care of his eyes. Maybe it is this unrealistic expectation of perfection that I strive for in my child, which makes me upset after hearing that my child has a disorder of any kind, despite being a mild condition.
Hb put it very aptly, “He is not perfect, but he is still our precious boy isn’t it, I am just thankful that it was not diagnosed as a neural issue or a terminal illness and he still will have a chance at having perfect eyesight eventually.”
“But how is he going to play sports well when he wear glasses?” I was diagnosed with short-sightedness at lower secondary and I used to think that was a major liability that I had for sports, as I was a school sprinter and I loved playing ball games.
Hb chided me and said, “There are sports glasses these days and many sports people do not have perfect eyesight. Despite that, they are still able to play their sport exceptionally well.”
I really should stop thinking about what I want my child to become, but to ensure that he will be able to adapt to this change that has been introduced in his life.
K is not perfect and I should not gripe or complain about this little imperfection that he has. I am simply very thankful that he is a very healthy boy.
It has been an emotional roller-coaster for me these few days, but a good reminder for me that imperfect humans like us, often need to experience lack to remind us that we cannot fully depend on ourselves. Perfection and conceitedness is a problem for the human spirit, as it tends to make us forget that we are fallible.
Our need for humility and our imperfections are the very things that will remind us that we need to turn to a big and perfect God that we can still depend on, despite the ambiguity life brings.
*hugs*
I can Totally understand how you feel when you learned that glasses was a must, because your concerns were mine too.
I teared too when KeatKeat was diagnose with myopia.
Just like you, I kept reminding him how to take care of his eyes and make extra effort that he followed those steps.
And i got Extremely angry when KK told me that he did All that he could so that he could wear glasses. Yes, he spoiled his eyes on PURPOSE, because he said he wanted to be like me! *faint*
Now he regret Big time! Because indeed it Is A hindrance when he play sports. But it’s all too late.
So dear, cheer up, because there is still hope for your boy. Taken from what you wrote “…he still will have a chance at having perfect eyesight eventually….”
Angeline´s last blog post ..FireFlies Cruise in Desaru
Hello! Thank you for sharing. It really sounds traumatic. If I were you, I am sure I would have gone bonkers, and wouldn’t have been able to keep it so well together like you have. Kyle is one super trooper too! He looks so brave in all the pictures and he has gamely put on those eye patches. Thank God too that the specialists you saw were able to identify the cause and thus, help with the problem. I believe that Kyle’s eye and eyesight will be perfectly well in His time. Praying too for God’s grace, joy, strength and peace to pour forth in greater abundance upon you and your family. Hugs hugs hugs.
Sarah´s last blog post ..Wordless Wednesday: Loving Nothing
Glad Kyle was ok! It was a scare for sure, but God is not going to let anyone of you fall. *wink*. Loved your perspective at the end of the post. Hold on to it. God loves your family so much. Praying for your breakthrough !
Rachel, actually Kyle IS perfect! He’s still your darling boy, your perfect child. He just needs glasses, that’s all. Plus, there are so many different options he can explore when he is older right? Contact lenses, lasik and goodness knows what else science and technology will come up with.
PS I am shortsighed but that was never a problem when I played sports in school
PPS He looks extremely cute in the first pic!
Adora´s last blog post ..All You Need is Love. And a Very Hungry Caterpillar
PPSS My sister was diagnosed with the same thing when she was Kyle’s age. I remember my mum being very upset as well. But she’s in her late 20s now and apart from normal shortsightedness, she’s totally fine. No more lazy eye.
Adora´s last blog post ..All You Need is Love. And a Very Hungry Caterpillar
such a relief to know he’s not down with something serious! hope he will get his perfect eyesight back soon.
Candice´s last blog post ..spending time on my babies
Yeah, felt relief too that it was not anything health threatening. I can’t imagine the scare you guys went through too. It must be terrible for you and Kyle too. anyway, always look on the bright side of life. =) take care.
Yvonne´s last blog post ..Our Family’s 1st Rock Climbing Adventure
Totally understand! I shed a tear too when my girl fell and got a huge scar on her perfectly beautiful blemish-free legs. It’s such a small thing and soo expected but I still felt bad anyway. I think it’s part n parcel of being a mom haha. Hope Kyle recovers quickly! I’m sure he will still be very good at sports lah, he’s a boy after all haha.
Madeline´s last blog post ..The Side Effects of Living with a Microbiologist
Hey Rachel, I’ve got a lazy eye but it doesn’t cross, and I never knew that it could lead to squinting. I can feel your sadness, but at least you know that it can be corrected over time, and I certainly hope it will improve and heal completely for Kyle.
June´s last blog post ..Mothers for mothers
I can totally feel where you’re coming from… I suppose as Mums, we are always striving for ‘perfection’, if we can even call it that.
But perfection according to whom?
I think it was summed up best when Keith said: “He is not perfect, but he is still our precious boy isn’t it, I am just thankful that it was not diagnosed as a neural issue or a terminal illness and he still will have a chance at having perfect eyesight eventually.”
There you go. It could have been worse.
Fortunately, it was discovered early.
We thank God for letting us know before the problem could escalate.
<>
Regina´s last blog post ..The Dollars and Sense of this ‘Parenting Business’
Jiahui Reply:
August 19th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
Rachel, Nicole started wearing a patch since she was 3yo. She had to wear it to school, so the trauma of getting laughed at was very real. But in the end, everyone wanted to be a pirate like her!
It started with 3 hours a day, down to 1 hour a day. After 8 mths, doc said she’s cleared of the squint. But she’ll always have a slight eyeball to the right when she just wakes up. Cos in her subconsciousness, that will happen.
As with Kyle, I believe the early intervention makes a big difference. As long as we keep the patch, and keep praying, it will be corrected!
Jiahui´s last blog post ..Can you Squat & Pee?
I agree with Regina that Keith summed it up perfectly. And I know you know it too.
Don’t be so vain lah! Kyle still looks very handsome and stylo, and specs are very cool accessories too, ya know :p Yeah and don’t worry about sports and all, with science and technology the way it is, hopefully lasik will cost less than $1k in a few years time. hehehe I am waiting for that day myself haha.
Dear Rachel,
So sorry to hear about your traumatic experience. It sounds really scary to me too. I can totally understand how you feel, but again, some things in life are not reversible. So, I guess we just have to face it positively.
I hope Kyle is getting used to his specs now. The eye patch looks quite uncomfortable to me, hopefully he can get rid of it soon.
To look at it at the bright side, there are sports glasses and LASIK surgery now. So, it won’t be a problem. I’m considering doing my LASIK end of this year too. I hate glasses too, so I’m wearing contact lens all the time.
Emily´s last blog post ..The Joy and Challenges of Motherhood
Thanks ladies for sharing your experience with this condition and empathizing with me on this. I am definitely taking on this parenting challenge positively and with hope and learning to be thankful with what I have already been blessed with.
Hi, I stumbled upon your blog while looking up on rates for child opthamologist. My 4 year old recently complained of seeing red dot in his right eye so while I’d bring him to his usual gp for consultation first, I thought I’ll source for possible specialist options first. Do you think you can email me your doc’s details? Thanks very much! And lastly I just want to say I feel encouraged your post, that we have a Father in heaven who is bigger than all our problems. I’m thankful for that and I really really need to keep that in mind otherwise I’d just be saying that our God is unloving and unkind which is totally not true, right? Thanks again and I look forward to your email. Yours sincerely, Pei Chin.