The Eyes are windows to the Soul

My youngest daughter was recently diagnosed with what is called amblyopia, or "lazy eye." It is a condition in which one eye - usually from birth - is markedly more blurring than the other eye and as development occurs the child's brain begins to negate or ignore the information being sent to it from the bad eye and eventually the poor kid looses bifocal ability (and consequently depth perception). If no action is taken it will result in virtual blindness in the bad eye that cannot ever be recovered and had we not found out about this for a couple more years, this might have been the case for Charissa. As it is, she stands a good chance of training herself to "see" with that eye again.

Undiagnosed, the problem is a real struggle for kids as I am sure it has been from my daughter. Sensing that something is "wrong" or that they are unusually clumsy (something I never really noticed - excep that now I find myself regretting terribly every instance in which I grew angry at spilled milk) may lead to a great deal of frustration and self-condemnation (something I DID notice.)

My daughter is an exceptionally sensitive and emotional person - likely a product of her troubles with her vision because she has certainly stood out from my other kids in this way - but more importantly (and here is why I bring this issue here) is that the treatment will probably NOT be easy for her. The goal of said treatment is to inhibit the vision in the good eye in order to train her brain to "see" with the bad eye. Sometimes this is actually accomplished by patching the good eye, but it seems we will be using some sort of glasses that will accomplish this without (I think) completely blinding her good eye). I expect that this will not be comfortable at all - certainly I would not enjoy it and so I worry that she will have a difficult time because she is so sensitive.

So, I beseech your prayers for Charissa, she's had a hard time of it and it's going to be tougher yet for awhile.

Comments

Anonymous said…
James,
I'm sorry to hear of this, but thankful that there's still something that can be done. You're all in my prayers.
Mimi said…
I'm also sorry to hear this. Be assured of my prayers for her.
fdj said…
Yes, wearing a patch outside the house would be emotionally devastating for her and her temperment I fear. She is VERY self-conscious.

However, a good deal of research seems to say that treatment with atropin is just as effective and at least eliminates the skin and emotional irritation.

However, the blurry vision may be troubling for her as well...hard to say for she has surprised me before with her inner strength, as when she broke her arm.
Karl said…
My mom had this condition and, because she didn't get it treated properly, it has stayed with her in a milder form all these years.

From the stories you've told of her (and the small amount of time I've actually seen her in action) I'm betting she'll fight through this!
Anonymous said…
What a blessing she lives in 2005. It's a sad thing to have something that afflicts her, but a great thing to be treatable.
--- Bob K.

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