3 years!

Well, it's been 3 years (and some change...blame our computer for not getting this out sooner) since we found out about Jack's cataracts, had both removed, and were on our way to life with an aphakic (no lenses in the eyes.) When I first started searching for information about cataracts, one thing I could never find was how this was going to effect us down the road...so if you're new to the cataract thing or just curious as to how Jack's doing...here ya go!




Jack is a full time glasses wearer. We had a short lived attempt at contacts about a month ago, but it was just too traumatic for all of us. They're still sitting on the counter. The glasses are a non issue. He wears them happily and at this point, that's all that matters.

He's in preschool three days a week. He LOVES it. He loves his teachers, friends, learning...everything. He doesn't require any sort of accommodations. I shot his teachers a quick email at the beginning of the year just explaining that he needs to wear them and giving cleaning instructions should snack or craft time get messy. He's adjusted well to the bifocals and there is nothing cuter than watching him tilt his head so he can read through the bifocal.

We go to the doctor twice a year. The visits are usually pretty painless and result in a prescription change. I'm scared to say this out loud, but we have thus avoided the patching boat. One of the benefits of having a bilateral kid is that neither eye was ever stronger than the other. Don't get me wrong...I know plenty of bilateral kids who have to patch for one reason or another, and I guess we're never fully in the clear. Same thing goes for glaucoma...he'll be carefully monitored for life I'm guessing.

Three years ago, I was terrified to think of what life would be like at this point. I lived in the worst case scenario world. The good news is, I'm not sure life today is any different than it would have been without cataracts. Jack has no recollection of his fateful first year, and continues to be a happy go lucky little dude!

If you're just starting your journey and have other questions about what life down the road is like, please ask! The unknown is a scary thing...

Jack doing his best "scare face" after watching Monsters, University.

Preschool

Jack started preschool two weeks ago.  I cannot even start to express how AMAZING it has been for him.  He absolutely loves it, his teachers are incredible, and I couldn't be happier.

The weeks leading up to preschool were filled with apprehension, though.  I thought, for sure, he'd be in contacts by now.  I imagined him coming home telling me that someone said something about his glasses.  Look, I'm not an idiot.  I know one day, he's going to get it.  Someone's going to say something unpleasant or rude to him and he's going to understand it.  For now, though, they're 3.  Jack can't wait to get to preschool to tell his teachers that his daddy is going to get new tires at Costco.  This gives me faith that the other kids aren't worried about his glasses right now. 

In fact, one simple conversation wiped away all of my fears.  On the first day of school, we walked into the lobby only to be face to face with another child in the exact same glasses.  We didn't point them out and Jack didn't say anything.  A few minutes later, Jack's daddy took him to the bathroom before class started.  The other boy with the glasses happened to be in there with his daddy at the same time.  When they left, Jack turned to David and said, "Daddy! That little boy was wearing..."

Here's where you are expecting him to say "glasses."  Nope, the conversation was, "Daddy! That little boy was wearing a Lightning McQueen shirt!"

After hearing about this, I later asked Jack about the encounter in the bathroom.  He told me there was a little boy in the bathroom wearing a Lightning McQueen shirt.  When I asked him if the little boy was also wearing glasses, Jack's response was, "Nope, just me!" 

Dear Emma

I wrote this post for my favorite site, Little Four Eyes! You can check it out here, or I've pasted it below!

Dear Emma,
Someday, you might be reading this blog and wondering why I wrote all of this for your brother. Well, now that you’re at the wise old age of 3 months, it’s high time I explain a few things to you. After all, by this age, Jack had already had 2 surgeries and was wearing glasses!

First off, I love you baby girl, but you are a terrible sleeper. It’s enough for me to put on matching shoes every day!

But that’s not the only reason. You see, your brother was born with cataracts. They’re kind of like special beauty marks on your eyes, except that he couldn’t see past them! He had to have two surgeries to remove them and now he wears his glasses, or the special contacts that go on his eyes.

You were born into the world of eye doctor appointments, glasses and contact lenses. You were 10 days old when your eyes were dilated for the first time. The doctor and your mommy and daddy wanted to make sure that if you had cataracts too, we caught them right away. So far, so good – you’ve already had 2 eye doctor appointments and several trips to the pediatrician!

You’ve never known your brother without glasses. Now that you’re grabbing things, they’re one of your favorite things to grab when he comes in for one of his many kisses a day. You’re very lucky for many reasons. One is that you don’t have cataracts, but I think you are the luckiest because you have a brother that did. Your brother is the strongest, bravest, neatest kid I’ve ever met. He is such a good big brother and loves you so much.

You may be wondering why you have to keep going to the eye doctor, or why you keep getting those special dilating drops once a year. Well, it’s because we know. We are now highly educated in the field of eyes…baptism by fire, some may call it. We know what to look for in pictures if your eyes cross, we rejoice when your pictures come out with red eye in them. We feel guilty for staring at your face, relieved there aren’t a pair of glasses on them. (Don’t get me wrong, Jack pulls off glasses better than anyone I know, but there’s just something about staring at his glasses-free face sometimes.) We constantly panic when we think we see a white fleck in your eye, only to be a reflection.

There was a time when we were scared we couldn’t have you, for fear that what Jack was going through was so bad, we couldn’t possibly do it again. At the end of the day, our family has so much love to give, and the good news is, not only could we do it again, I have pure faith that you would be a fighter, just like him.

So if you ever wonder why Jack has a blog and you don’t, please know that you a big part of his story, and “eye” love you, too!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

An update

I'm three!

This is a couple of weeks late because I was trying to forget about the 2 and a half hour trip to the ophthalmologist. They always warn you the appointment could be up to 2 hours because of dilation, but when our appointment is at 10 and Jack wasn't dilated until 11:15....on top of the 2 month old and 3 year old....ok, clearly not over it yet!

Anyways, this was a 2-for-1 visit. The doctor would like to check Baby E during Jack's 6 month check ups just to keep an eye (pun totally intended) on things. So far, so good! Baby E is exactly the age now that Jack was when we discovered his cataracts, so we were holding our breath a little. We've also noticed that she is sooooooo much more social than he ever was at this age. Hindsight is always 20/20 (again, with the eye references!) but he couldn't see us at this point and therefore, couldn't really interact.

So, here's where we stand with Jack. Because he is now 3 and starting preschool soon, he will be going to bifocals. Up until this point, his vision was a corrected compromise. Far away wasn't perfect and up close wasn't perfect, but for his age, that was about right. Now that he will be reading, writing, etc., the doctor wants to be sure that his vision is clear for both.

My loves!

Now to the glasses...we don't have them yet, but the optometrist has warned us that doing bifocals at this strength of prescription is not a cosmetically easy thing to do. It requires something called a lenticular lens, where they won't be able to grind down the lenses, leaving part of the bifocal rather thick. (Thicker than they are now, if you've seen Jack's glasses up close.) Because of this, plus the fact that Jack is much more active (swimming, soccer, etc.) and starting preschool, we are going to give contacts another shot. It's been 18 months since we did it last. The hope is that being 3 brings a bit more understanding, less physical restraining, and the ability to accept bribes. So far, we've had him watching daddy put his contacts in, saving an old pair to play with, and watching other young children have theirs put in and taken out. I'm definitely open to suggestions! Hopefully, we have them in the next week or 2. (Edit: Jack just watched Monsters, Inc. for the first time, and we made a huge deal when Mike puts his contact in before work.  He got a kick out of that!)

So, all in all, it was a good visit. A few changes in the pipeline, but no major adjustments. It looks like we can start talking about implants (IOLs) when Jack turns 5, so still a ways to go!!!!

Aaaaaaaaaaand exhale...

Jack is proud to announce the arrival of his new sister, Baby E!  She arrived on April 30, and besides not wanting to sleep longer than 30 minutes at a time at night, we are over the moon with her arrival!  We knew getting into this that there was a chance that she could have cataracts as well, and were prepared to deal with it if we had to.  Key words: if we had to. To be honest, it didn't cross my mind much during the pregnancy.  I'd start to think about it, and immediately push the thoughts away because there wasn't anything I could do about it.  As soon as she was born, though, I found myself peering into her eyes, wondering if there was anything in there. 

 The on-call pediatrician came the night she was born.  She was unfamiliar with our particular case, but we gave her the heads up and she did a fairly thourough exam of her eyes.  D and I held our breaths for what felt like the longest 10 seconds of our life.  Red eye reflex? Check.  Aaaaaaaaaaand exhale.....

The day after we came home was our first official check-up with our pediatrician - the doctor who knows everything about our case and actually initially diagnosed Jack.  She made sure to check and double check Baby E's eyes, and again, saw that red eye reflex.  Aaaaaaaaaaaaand exhale again. 

Then came the day I had been dreading since we found out I was pregnant - Baby E's first trip to the opthamologist.  The doctor had instructed us to come in as soon as possible once the baby was born. I just kept thinking, "Do we have to?" I was so tempted to push the appointment back so I could just enjoy her little face and not be peering into her eyes looking for the white specs, or think about what she would look like with pink glasses.  I just wanted her to be a blank slate and for me to be able to leave it that way.  At the end of the day, I knew it had to be done, so off we went. 

It was a loooooong appointment, but Baby E (and big brother) did great! They even dilated her eyes, which I was shocked at for some reason.  Anyways, D and I held our breath until the doctor said,"No cataracts."  Holy cow, those are the most joyous words I've ever heard.  There were a few other doctors visiting and there seemed to be a discussion (you know, the ones doctors have like you're not still in the room) about whether or not this meant we were off the hook.  Our doctor seems to think that Jack's cataracts were there from birth...just not large enough to be spotted by the pediatrician.  She was confident that since Baby E was clear, that they wouldn't just develop.  The other doctors disagreed somewhat.  We know we're not in the clear, but this was a huge step.  Baby  E will be monitored at all of big brother's appointments, and we know our awesome pediatrician will be keeping an eye on her as well.  Until then, we will appreciate clearing this hurdle and move along!

After the stress of that appointment, a glass of wine at lunch was JUST what the doctor ordered!