We took Natalie to her 9 month well check up with her regular pediatrician. Her pediatrician turned off the lights and shone a light into her eyes. The way the pediatrician explained it to my husband and myself was, no matter how much red is in an infant's eyes, there should be an equal amount in the right and left eye; the red in each eye should essentially look the same. She immediately noticed that there was a significant difference in Natalie's eyes and referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist.
At 9 months Natalie was diagnosed with a severe amblyopia caused by myopia (nearsightedness). He, (Dr. Galang - her pediatric ophthalmologist), repeatedly told us how lucky we were. Because Natalie's condition is so severe, we are extremely lucky to have caught it so early, at 9 months. Had we waited until 2 or 3 years, the vision in that eye would have most likely been lost.
When we got her first pair of glasses she did not just begin babbling and talking, her development literally EXPLODED. She also began to immediately pull herself up and stand. Before we had her glasses, she screamed whenever she was in her car seat and the vehicle was moving. That also stopped when she began wearing her glasses. In addition to Natalie's physical developmental milestones, her little personality also exploded. It was amazing, and upsetting, to us as parents to see all of the things that her vision had affected. From birth to 9 months, she could not tell us that she could not see, or that things were moving, or whatever the case may be on how she perceived the world.
We patched her good eye for 4-5 hours per day. We also saw the ophthalmologist every couple of months, and we have ever since. Her patching changes, for example, for a couple of months we patched for 2-3 hours per day. Then for a couple of months we patched 3 hours every other day. We currently patch 5 days per week for 2 hours. We give her 2 "days off" per week.
At 16 months we noticed her rubbing her eye and taking her glasses off. We took her to the doctor and we changed her prescription. After we got her new prescription, she did not stand and start to toddle; she stood up and walked! We have been very fortunate. I think that Natalie's ophthalmologist is thorough, and overall has been wonderful. But, as a parent I wanted to make sure we were being thorough, so we took her for a second opinion to a doctor in Marshfield. Everything the doctor said was exactly as Natalie's regular ophthalmologist diagnosed. It was very comforting and reassuring that as parents, we were doing the right thing.
There are things that obviously affect Natalie's life because of her eye that we might not have caught on our own. For example, when she walks down stairs she has never looked down, but rolls her ankle to feel with her foot. She is not as steady overall as our 3 year-old daughter, Sophia, but she has a great sense of hearing. She would point up to the sky and my husband and I would wonder what she was doing. A few moments later we would realize what it was. She could hear an airplane coming or going, long before any of us could.
Natalie is a very happy 22-month-old girl. She loves to swing, play with her big sister, Sophia; and help wash the dishes! Her ophthalmologist encourages us that with continual patching, and no major deterrents, she will have decent vision as an adult compared to being blind in one eye had we caught it 1-2 years later. My husband and I know that we are very fortunate and hope to help other families catch any eye condition that their child may have as early as possible and prevent blindness.
About Prevent Blindness Wisconsin
Prevent Blindness Wisconsin provides free, direct sight-saving services throughout Wisconsin. In implementing these services, we prevent blindness by identifying early signs of vision disorders, facilitating early and effective treatment, and preventing eye injury. We are a non-profit organization and are supported entirely by voluntary contributions from individuals, corporations, family foundations, organizations, special events, and bequests. Our fiscal year is April 1st through March 31st.
