My sweet and amazing little...four eyes!

For those who don't know, Parker was diagnosed with an eye condition called Posterior Staphyloma last year. The easiest way to explain it is that he is extrememly nearsighted. He was born this way. We took him to a pediatric ophthalmologist last year b/c I had a sinking feeling that he needed glasses since he was always pulling things really close to him to see it and he would go really close to the TV. My suspicions were correct and Parker has been wearing glasses since April 2012.

this was last April when he got his glasses for the first time! he looks so little!

doesn't he look so smart and completely adorable in his glasses?

by June he was wearing his glasses pretty regularly. it was tough getting to wear them at first, but i just started to insist he wear them anytime he wanted to play, read, or watch a show. i would have him wear it for a bit then let him take it off. pretty soon he was insisting on wearing his glasses and asking where they were. this was right before we went to see Madagascar 3 at the theater...his first movie in the theater, which he loved and I was thankful he could see clearly!

Parker had an appointment with his ophthalmologist on Wednesday 4/15/13. The last time he went to an eye appointment was a complete fail. He screamed as if we were chopping his arms off when the nurse/tech had to put eye drops in his eyes. Kevin had to literally hold him down so the doctor could look at his eyes and she couldn't even go near him with some of her equipment. I was pretty hopeful about this appointment because Parker is about 6-8 months older and he can comprehend things a lot better. So I started to prep him a few days before and by this I mean:
   1) telling him he was going to see the eye doctor
   2) telling him the eye doctor is going to have a "mask" with a light and he's going to get really close to your face to look at your eyes so you are going to open them nice and big. We would practice this with me putting my hands around my eyes like binoculars and getting close to his face and say random things that I "see" in his eyes like a train or a car.
   3) telling him he would be looking at pictures on a mirror and telling the eye doctor what he saw

looking so serious, but he had just made a grab for that very expensive equipment in front of him w/ all the knobs and buttons. i was just praying he wouldn't break it.

I did choose to omit the whole eye drop thing during our conversation. I figured they would put eye drops in, but I just chose to gloss over it. And I suppose I should confess that the night before his appointment I also bribed told him that I would take him out for ice cream if he does not cry at the appointment. He must have really wanted that ice cream bc he exceeded my expectations! We waited a long time bc Dr. H. got called into surgery. 1.5 hours later we got called back and the thing I love about this practice is that you spend the whole appointment with the specialist. With the other eye specialist Parker went to we spent a majority of ther time with a nurse or a tech who did the eye drops, ther picture test, etc and the doctor was only with us for 10 min. Bad part is the wait time for both doctors is ridiculous, but thats what happens when there's only a few pediatric ophthalmologist in their area.

Parker and Dr. H...he was eying this Buzz Lightyear toy that spins and lights up when you press the button. Crazy kiddo even asked Dr. H if he could take it home. Dr. H politely said he could come back and play with it next time he came back, but that he could play with it during his exam.

He did such an amazing job listening to Dr. H and calling out the pictures. He goofed off a little bit, but Dr. H. called him out in a nice way and Parker straightened up right away...goofy smile still plastered on his face though. He let Dr. H. put drops in his eyes without any fuss and he was poked and prodded. Like I said, he was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! Dr. H. told him how he was very well behaved and Parker replied with: "Yep and I get ice cream after!". Dr. H. laughed and I shrugged my shoulder...hey you gotta do what you gotta do!

he ate that cup of ice cream so fast!!!

mommy ate her ice cream cone so fast!

Here's what we found out:
1. Parker's eyes actually improved. His prescription last year w/ Dr. BH was -8 on the right eye and -11 on the left eye. That was obtained while he was flailing like a fish. When he went under anesthesia around October of last year she was able to do a more thorough exam and said that his left eye was actually -12. I can't remember what is right eye was. I was devestated b/c his eyes were getting worse. So I was relieved to find out his eyes have improved. He is now at -7 for his right and -10 for his left. It's still bad, but it has improved.

2. I asked what the prognosis is for his eyes and was told it is hard to tell. I also asked if it could lead to blindness and was told likely not, but that he is just extremely nearsighted.

3. I asked if it was hereditary and if we should get Avery checked out. We were told it isn't hereditary, but if we have concerns then we shoudl get her tested. I advised that I didn't and she doesn't bring things close to her eyes to see them and yes she goes up to the TV quite a bit, but she also sees Parker and her cousins doing the same thing.

4. I asked if he needed to wear an eye patch b/c Dr. BH had advised he needed to wear one over his right eye for 70-80% of the day to strengthen his left eye. I advised that Parker has refused to wear his patch since before Christmas b/c it irritates his skin. Dr. H said 70-80% seemed a bit excessive, but if he will tolerate it for 2 hours a day then that should be fine. He also said that if he will wear for longer then that's fine too. He advised that this may help strengthen his left eye, but that it may not do anything at all. We have a follow up in September to see how his eye has improved.

at a carnival at his old preschool...he wore his glasses and eye patch every Tues and Thur when he went to school. he wore the patch without too much fussing, but we took a break from wearing it around Christmas time b/c he got sick...and it was hard to get him to wear it again. 

We haven't exactly started putting an eye patch over his right eye yet. I'm just trying to put off the inevitable screaming and crying. Last year when he was still wearing his eye patch, I explained to him that he had an eye boo boo and that's why he had to wear a pirate patch. I've tried prepping him for wearing an eye patch and telling him he has an eye boo boo and each time it results in him grabbing his eye, moaning, and starting to cry. He keeps insisting he doesn't have an eye boo boo. I think we will have to resort to bribing him with a couple of chocolate chips or something.

parker was a pirate his 2nd halloween, but i couldn't resist dressing him as a pirate again w/ his built in "pirate patch". he normally just uses plain blue patches, but i was saving this pirate one for halloween. doesn't he make a cute pirate?

Cross your fingers, toes, and eyes that all goes well b/c we HAVE to do this!