Eye Update

We took this little rugrat to the opthamologist in Salt Lake this week.  We made Cole go with us this time to entertain Hagen on the drive.  Those two were great and there was less whining than there is in any four hour stretch at home so that was a success!

Our appointment took SO long this time.  We were there for over two hours and Hagen hadn't had a nap at all that day so to say he was completely pleasant would be a lie! He did however cooperate well for the doctor, it was the time in the waiting room that was ugly. 

They dialated his eyes and I wish I would've taken my camera, it was hilarious! His pupils were giant and he didn't act like he cared a bit, but he looked really funny.  We found out that he has developed an astigmatism since we were there last.  This isn't surprising but I was hoping it would be at least another year before we got that news.  Most kids with OA will develop an astigmatism which means that the front of their eye is irregularly shaped.  The good news is that this problem can be corrected with lenses, unlike his actual vision.  (If that makes any sense at all)  The doctor didn't want to prescribe him glasses quite yet, thank heavens! I can't imagine a two year old keeping a pair of glasses in decent shape for much more than an hour.  Hopefully we can hold out on the glasses for another year, but we will see where we are in six months when we go back.

The doctor said his actual vision is pretty good right now and he told us that he thinks that Hagen will end up having decent vision throughout his life.  Thank goodness for that! We are blessed with a mild case that is for sure.  We did have one concern that drives me absolutely crazy.  Hagen will stare at lights, bright ones, and for a long time.  The pendulum lights that hang over our bar are his favorite and he will tilt his head and look right at them.  I can only look at them for literally one second without it killing my eyes.  We asked the doctor about this and it seemed to puzzle him a bit.  He told us that kids with really poor vision will do that because it gives them sensory stimulation.  He then said that Hagen's vision is not nearly bad enough to warrant this behavior. He then strongly encouraged us to avert his attention elsewhere when he does this as it really can damage his eyes. 

I have been doing a bunch of internet shopping for sunglasses for this boy as well.  I can't tell you how many times I have nearly paid upwards of $50 for a pair of baby shades.  The thought sickened me though because even though Hagen is pretty good about wearing his sunglasses, the fact that he is two cannot be ignored.  I bumped into a website that sells sunglasses called "babiators", they are somewhat cute little things that have an amazing one year lost or broken replacement guarentee! We will take the $20 babiators over the trendy "Ray Bans" for that kind of coverage any day.