Comments on: open thread – responses

By: Ann Z

Ann Z — Wed, 04 May 2011 03:39:37 +0000

Oh Ingrid, vent away! Those responses are so hard to hear. We mostly get lots of positive responses to Zoe’s glasses, too, but then it seems like you get a day when everyone is saying thoughtless things.

By: ingrid

ingrid — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:03:14 +0000

*want! typo sorry

By: ingrid

ingrid — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:01:57 +0000

I just had to vent a little today so here goes….. I had one of those days yesterday when I really felt like Paris’s glasses seemed like such a big deal to everyone else but me!! From one little girl asking me if she was blind in one eye (that really hurt) and another asking if she would always have to wear glasses in a tone that was very pittying!! why is that such a bad thing??? It just really got me down. Needless to say Paris was oblivious to it all but I have to say it was one of those days where it really affected me and I admit to feeling depressed about her having to wear glasses and ended up dwelling on it all day. Perhaps the glasses are just so part of Paris to us as she has worn them since she was less than one year old but I guess to others glasses on a three year old is still not very common. I think a lot of parents whant to ask more questions but don’t want to seem rude. It is hard to express those feelings to someone who does not have a child in glasses so I just wanted to get it out there and off my chest. For the record, we also get a lot of genuine comments about how adorable she is in her glasses but I guess sometimes I just wish people would not say anything about her glasses and just see her as Paris and not the little girl with the glasses

By: GeorgeB

GeorgeB — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:35:15 +0000

I agree with Corrie..it is different depending on each individual circumstance.

By: Corrie

Corrie — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:18:31 +0000

I think it is different for each child and for each “disease” of the eye. Our daughter has congenital esotropia (from birth and we have been patching since she is four months old), and we will be patching until she is 10 (years-old that is ) , which is when the eyes are pretty much fully developed. That said, if your daughter’s vision improves to be equal to the better eye, your doctor will back off of patching and watch the eye closely to see if it reverts back to worse vision. If it does, then the patching will be increased again. I have heard some stories where they were able to patch just for a few months and then the eyes remained stable after patching. It may be that you have to go in spurts with times of no patching as the eyes continue to develop until age 10. That’s the information that I have gathered from our PO anyways. I am so happy Paris is doing well with the patching! That’s great news!

By: ingrid

ingrid — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:58:04 +0000

on a different note can anyone tell me how long patching goes on for. We are having good success at keeping Paris’s frame hugger on for the two hours per day but just wonder how long we will have to continue, weeks, months, years? I have no idea and how does the specialist know? Expecially in such little children (Paris is 21 months).

By: MT

MT — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:53:08 +0000

Ingrid,

I would try to patch initially at home but I wouldn’t stick to just doing it at home. In our case it is actually easier on Belle when she is out and about and doing things and kind of forgets she is wearing it because she is busy etc vs at home – she has more time to think about it and take it off (hide it, etc).

The questions are annoying but not worth getting in the way of us living our life and getting out there!!!

~MT

By: MT

MT — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:50:52 +0000

Belle has a shirt that says “Patching Princess” and the other side says “My patch helps make my eye strong and beautiful” (or something like that).

I got it from Patch Pals – great shirt but it hasn’t stopped the questions/comments.

We are at a point now where the positive comments are fine it is just the dumb ones that derail. And yes, like Elly above… the TONE is key.

By: amomofelly

amomofelly — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:07:21 +0000

Unfortunately, I think RUDE people will be rude no matter what. =( The positive comments do help and don’t de-rail. I know that Elly is more sensitive to how (the tone) people say things than what they say. In less than 20 minutes, 2 different moms came up to ask me about her patch because it was so cute and where I found the patch (framehuggers). Elly was really cute and told them that it was “much better than the sticker ones.” and was beaming ear to ear.

By: Ann Z

Ann Z — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:59:36 +0000

That’s kind of what I was wondering – and worried that comments, even well-meant comments, could derail the patching. Do you think a sticker or something that said “the patch makes my eye stronger” would help – or just encourage more questions?