Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Eye glasses

Last week we had eye appointment for Vignesh. His previous eye appointment was done over a year back. And, he had positive power in his eyes. Since he was just 5 months then, the doctor had wanted us to wait.

So, when we went last week, they checked his eye and the power still remains the same. Since, +5 is significant, they have recommended glasses. I was reluctant. I cannot imagine my son wearing them at all. Because, he hates any 'extra accessory'. Be it a cap, sock, shoe and sometimes even diaper, it irritates him. His trach tube and thermovent on his neck are outside his line of vision. And, yet he tries to pull them. How do I make him wear glasses thats going to be right in front of his eyes? I have no clue. And, seeing our reluctance, the doctor told us that he might end up with a squint, in case we don't go for glasses. And, she also added the usual statement that how DS kids are already delayed in milestone and without glasses there would be further delay.

Over the last few months, I have come to have more trust in the advice and judgment of other parents than even doctors. So, I wrote about it in the downsyn forum and wanted to know if anyone else has been through this. And, most of them had wanted me to follow the ophthalmologist's advice.

A piece of good news though. I heard from an optometrist that as he grows and the eye lens gets bigger, the positive power would come down and that glasses might just be temporary thing. Ironically, we get similar comments for his tracheostomy too. As he grows, his airway would widen and he can be easily out of the trach. Oh, how I wish there was some magic formula to make his grow fast!

Now we are left with no choice. But, we still have the prescription safe in our bag. We are just procrastinating getting the glasses. I'm tired being behind him all the time to make sure he is wearing his thermovent. So, its going to be one more challenge. Just wish me luck.

2 comments:

  1. Hi sumithra,

    I came across this page
    http://www.riverbendds.org/index.htm?page=ntdrda.html

    the FAQ section is quite informative.
    have a look.

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  2. Good luck Sumithra!
    I can understand the hesitation you're feeling about Vignesh having to wear glasses at such a young age. Especially with the trach tube too, it must be difficult. I know too well the guilt you feel too, when professionals insist that glasses must be worn and you don't know how to achieve it!
    Maia has had eye glasses for nearly 18 months now and it wasn't always easy. She didn't want to keep them on for long at first but as she's got older it's become easier. We started just with seconds keeping them on and some days she didn't want to wear them at all so we tried not to push it and have a "glasses break" sometimes. We found the more we insisted she wore them if she didn't want to, the more resistant she became. We tried to get her to wear them at certain times (after a while), like watching TV when she was more distracted. I'm not sure if it was a maturity thing, comfort or realizing she could see better with them on but eventually she became willing to wear them for most of the day. She still takes them off at times and puts them in strange places occasionally but it is much easier now.
    I'd highly recommend specs4us (Erins World glasses) if they are available in India.
    Try not to stress about it (easier said than done I know), just try to take little steps and one day at a time.
    Wishing you all the best.

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