little four eyes

There have been some questions lately on how my 3 year old daughter, Elliana, is doing 2 months after her surgery. I have been meaning to post an update and just haven’t had the chance.

My daughter is just one of many kids who have Lateral Rectus Eye Muscle Surgery and each child reacts differently.  Please remember that I am not an expert, just a loving parent, so this is by no means medical advice or how other children may react.

Our Ophthalmologist said that she appears to be adjusting harder than most and is struggling a bit.  I also just had a new baby (he is 3 months old) so the last 3 months have really rocked my daughters’ world.  She is now down to waking up with nightmares only 1 or 2 times every night and is having less bathroom accidents (Se was potty trained for a whole year prior to surgery)  Thankfully, her light sensitivity seems to have disappeared.  We have also started giving her temple massages, which seem to help relax her.

My biggest worry for recovery is that we would have to go in again for surgery.  We were told that 10% of our PO’s patients need to go in for “touch ups,” as the surgery is based on measurements, but each child’s eyes reacts differently.  They overcorrected her eyes because statistically, eyes will drift outward again following surgery.  Because of this, her eyes were crossing in a lot in the beginning.  They still seem to me to be inward, but the PO said it is because I am not used to seeing her eyes straight.  When her glasses are off (right before bed) her eyes are all over the place.  I am told this is normal.

Right now, I am still a little worried, but it seems like her eyes just need a little more time to get used to their new position.  The prescription in her stronger eye has changed from -1 to -3. I am told this is also normal as her brain is recognizing the weaker eye and making adjustments.  Here are some pictures to help tell her story.  I promise she is usually smiling from ear to ear, but HATES to look at the camera. 

The first picture was taken in December before the surgery.  The second picture was taken the day after and the third picture is from today – 2 months after the surgery.  The only way I could get her to look at the camera was to let her eat the candy from the candy necklace she just made =)

Have you ever heard of Ficklets? Not me. At least not until a few weeks ago when someone online introduced me to them. But they are cute and apparently make all the difference for some children who would rather not wear glasses at all.

We were thrown into the world of children’s glasses back around December when we found out our oldest (5yrs old) has Amblyopia. He has between now and when he turns 10 for his brain and eyes to work together to strengthen the focus in his left eye. If glasses don’t work, there is the patching technique. ( I did get ahead of myself by establishing another contact online who actually makes attractive patches for kids. She made one for Brendan which we are not using yet, but may start soon. I plan to introduce this product to the Opthamologists at Brendan’s next appointment this month). Watch for my review on this patch in the near future.

Back to the Ficklets. These are eyeglass charms in their own way and they aren’t expensive. Brendan picked out the pair of blue dogs but Ros at Ficklets sent him a set of soccer balls too, and he chooses to wear one of each. I will add, he’s been wearing these for weeks and they stay on great! In the short time he’s had his glasses (and he wears them almost 24/7) the frame is already bent and I found a small crack in one lens ( ughhh)- he’s a boy, what can I say?

All that to say, the Ficklets have hung on VERY well. They are attached by a small rubber band you twist around the eyeglass frame and wrap onto the ficklet. Only recently did one pop off and we just used our “backup” rubber band that came with the pack to replace the missing band. I’ve never worn braces myself but know others who have and these bands remind me of tiny brace bands.

If you have a child who must wear glasses and just WILL not do it, you should consider looking into Ficklets. Ficklets might just give them the boost they need to overcome their self-consciousness about wearing glasses. Click here to read what others are saying about the difference Ficklets made in their childrens’ lives. I especially like the flower-ficklets for little girls, but I don’t have one of those

We did receive our Ficklets free in exchange for providing a review of them on my blog. Ficklets has a variety of charms available so be sure to check them out! The Ficklet motto is…”Give four-eyes a fresh perspective.”

This review was done by me and previously posted at my blog HallofFameMoms.com.

Hi, I’m pretty new to Little Four Eyes and this is my first “guest” post.  I can’t remember exactly how, but I think I may have found Little Four Eyes by searching the web after I found out my oldest, Brendan, was going to need glasses. My husband and I have two boys, Jack and Brendan (they will be 4 and 6 this spring).

Brendan started kindergarten in the fall and as is the practice, he got an eye exam at school. They sent a paper home with him saying -nothing really specific other than the results of the test led them to believe he needed to be seen by a professional. So we visited our family doctor’s office and he was tested there and I could even see there was a problem. So off to the Opthamologist we go!

After some testing there I was told he had Amblyopia. His left eye was about 20/40 or 20/60.  Thus, one eye is weaker than the other. The good news is that it was caught at a young age and he has between now and when he turns 10 yrs old for his brain and eye to work together and improve that weak eye. He is in glasses right now and he really is very good about wearing them. We picked up his new glasses around the end of December. And can I just say, boy, is he hard on them    We already have a small crack and the frame was bent. But thats a boy for you.

At first I wasn’t sure if they were helping him, but apparently his eyes had to adjust and he has told me the glasses do help him see better.  Today was our first appointment back to have his eyes checked.  His eye has improved a little! The doctor says she’ll see him again in two more months and we don’t have to patch right now. However, as a momblogger/product reviewer over at my blog HallofFameMoms I contacted Camille at FrameHuggers and she sent me a patch made specifically for Brendan’s glasses so that we could try it and do a review of them on my blog. The doctor said we could go ahead and try the patch at home if we want to. I also left a brochure for FrameHuggers with the doctor.

Glasses are nothing new to me or my husband. We have to wear them on occasion. My worst eye is my left- I think its far sighted. I also have astigmatism in both eyes. My husband has to wear them when he drives. But having a child in glasses IS something to get used to. Since Brendan has to wear them all the time except to sleep and bathe its up to me mostly to make sure he puts them on in the morning. I’ve had to make second trips to school because we’ve forgotten them in the morning. I also clean them everyday for him- whether he thinks they need it or not. How can he see through that smeary lens?

The doctor says he will need to wear the glasses till he is 10 yrs old, even if his eye keeps improving. After the 10 yr old mark, there is nothing that can be done to retrain that eye. Whatever improvement has been made, that will be that. Hopefully he will not have to wear glasses beyond that.

On a final note this experience has made me aware (as I am currently considering homeschooling the boys next year) of how important it is to get our kid’s eyes checked at a young age. I may not have noticed his Amblyopia on my own. Since the school did that initial exam and made me aware, I know now to make sure I have my youngest tested soon.

Post written by Tracy Zdelar, blogger/editor at Hall of Fame Moms.

I’m reposting this comment from Stacy in hopes that others will have information for her. -Ann Z

I have a 15 month old son, Ethan, and we just had our first visit with a pediatric ophthalmologist. I feel very disappointed, frustrated and scared after this appointment. We took our son to the ophthalmologist because his left eye turns in. I was not terribly worried because I had amblyopia as a child and anticipated that at the most we would be patching our son’s eye. The eye doctor told us that Ethan’s right eye has 20/20 vision, but his left eye is extremely nearsighted and that he had something called “myelinated retinal nerve fibers.” The eye doctor told us we would need to patch his right eye and that he would need to wear glasses with a Rx of -8.5 in the left lens. He told us we could “read up” on these myelinated retinal nerve fibers as it is a rare condition. He also said that with patching and glasses (6-8 hours a day) that a reasonable vision expectation for Ethan would possibly be 20/50. I feel lost. All I can find on “myelinated retinal nerve fibers” are medical journals full of jargon that I do not understand!!! I’m still unclear as to what Ethan’s actual diagnosis is or how long we will need to patch and wear glasses. All I know is that I am to return in 2 months to check his vision again. We are seeking a second opinion. But has anyone been told their child has “myelinated retinal nerve fibers?” Any help would be soo appreciated! I feel defeated.

upset Dagny

When my daughter Dagny was five months old she would cross her eyes when she was upset about something. It was a phase that only lasted a few weeks and I was relieved when it stopped. At her one year well-baby checkup her pediatrician asked me if I noticed her right eye turning in. It was so slight that I often thought I might be imagining it but it worsened rapidly over the next few months while I waited for her optical appointment. Her eye crossing became a source of stress for me. Somehow I connected it to my failure as a mother. I know this is completely unrealistic but I knew it must be my fault. I felt as if people were judging her, and me, for it.

On the day of the appointment we sat in the waiting room for hours waiting to be seen. I was nervous the entire time and Dagny was beginning to get antsy. I was relieved when we finally met the staff. They were warm and welcoming. I found out that my daughter is farsighted and she was given a prescription for glasses.  We made progress and I was anxious to get the glasses. I rushed home and began calling optical stores in my area. There are many within walking distance so I knew we would be just fine but one after another the stores told me that they could not help me with a child of 15 months.

“We don’t have glasses that small.”

“I have never worked with a baby before.”

“Maybe you can call another branch. I am not really…uh…can you hold please?”

After making over a dozen phone calls I broke down and cried. I felt defeated. All of the emotions came out at once. I did not want my baby to face this obstacle so early in life. I never had glasses soI could not relate to her vision problems and I know that this will be something she will always have to deal with.

We finally found eyeglasses nearly an hour away. She has had them for a few days now. She wore them all day at first but she is already struggling with them. She bent them on day two and today scratched a lens. I am just going to keep smiling and putting them back on her face. We go back in a couple months to see if her vision has changed any. She still crosses her eyes. I was told that the glasses would correct this but I was not told if it would be instantaneous or gradually.

Dagny's new glasses

I will learn to accept this over time as I learn more about her condition and what I can do to help her. It’s not the worst thing ever and I am so glad that we caught it early. Besides it is the cutest thing ever when a 15 month old says “gyasses.”

It is always fun to get mail, a new patch in the mail is like icing on the cake =)  WHOOOO HOOOO!  Oh, can you tell patching for umpteen million hours a day for the last thousands, no wait, gazillion days gets boring….

A new patch is always exciting in our house.  Sometimes our sweet neighbor girls make my daughter one and leave it on our doorstep so they can be patching twins (she patches too) other times Camille at frame huggers sends us a new product she is trying out for our input.  I guess it is one benefit to being a long time patcher. 

Her latest trial is a sticker slicker… which is a soft patch with an extra vinyl piece to put a sticker on.  Elly was extremely excited about putting stickers on it, although I can see a little goo build up as we are a little sticker happy at this household.  All in all, we gave it a seal of approval.  Besides, who can resist an adorable little girl with a hot pink patch!!!!

To see all of her products, visit https://www.framehuggers.com/index.htm  and if you need something for your glasses or have a specific patching request, she is very talented, creative, and dedicated to helping our little ones, so just send her an e-mail.

A couple of quick things.  We’re trying to get our house ready to put on the market (we’re just moving within the same city, not across country), so I finding I have less time to write for the next few weeks.  I’m also finding about a thousand of those lens cleaning cloths, but that’s a different story.  While I always love to get your stories and posts, now I’m going to send out an extra call.  I’d love any posts you’d like to write – the story of how you found out your child needs glasses; a tip or strategy that’s worked for you; a book review; a question; etc.  Email me ann@shinypebble.com.

Second thing, a group called Eye Care for Kids is currently in the running for the Pepsi Refresh Project, which awards $250,000 to the top two vote-getting ideas.  Eye Care for Kids provides serves visually impaired, low income children in the state of Utah, USA.  They would use the money if they won to provide 4,000 kids in Utah with free eye exams and glasses.  You can vote for their project every day until Feb. 28.  It does require that you login with your email address, or a facebook account.

This update comes from Danielle, whose daughter Mia had cataract surgery as an infant, and continues to deal with glaucoma, patching, and contacts.  You can read more of Danielle’s posts about Mia here (introducing Mia, after her second glaucoma surgery, occluding lens for patching, glaucoma valve shifting and corneal scarring, Mia’s contact lens).  -Ann Z

Mia at 20 months

I have been avoiding little four eyes because we have been having a tough time with contacts and patching.  As Mia gets older, the stronger she gets, not only with physical strength, but with mental strength and stubbornness. She is my little firecracker and she does not like having her vision taken away. She has become crafty with her contact lenses and has learned how to remove them, or a new trick where she puts her finger on her occlusion lens and slides it to the corner of her eye. It must be very uncomfortable, however she chooses to be uncomfortable in order to see.  Mia’s vision without correction is 20/1300 so she is legally blind in her right eye; and with correction she is 20/360. I compare her vision with someone that is blind, so when she is patched I am literally stealing her vision and expecting her to function and move around like she can see; which she can’t. I understand that patching will increase her vision, however the time it will take to regain vision in her right eye is torture to her.

Mia after her glaucoma surgery

During an exam under anesthesia 2 months ago, we found out that Mia’s glaucoma returned. She had valve surgery 3 weeks ago and everything went really well.  As usual she was starved when she woke up and wanted her juice and crackers, and to get the hell out of the hospital; saying “bye bye” every few seconds. Since Mia is so strong willed about having anything on her face, we purchased soft splints for her arms to prevent her from removing her eye shield and bandages. She hates the splints and learned very quickly to keep her hands away from her eye or they will go back on.  It broke my heart that she does not even realize that her right eye is covered; which means she is pretty much blind in this eye. She is walking around like normal, not even skipping a beat. It kills me, it makes me feel like I have not done everything in my power to prevent her right eye from going blind. I am sitting here crying as I type thinking, how and why. This has been such a hard and devastating road that we have traveled. But I hope and pray that it is not to late to save her vision. Sometimes I think about the choices we have made; what if we decided to do nothing when we were informed about her cataract when she was 12 days old. Yes, she would have gone blind in her eye, however she would not have to endure surgery after surgery, or nystagmus, amblyopia, exotropia, glaucoma, patching, glasses, contact lenses, eyes drops, ointments. My father always says “you make the best decision based on the information you are provided with, that is all you can do”. But this does not make me feel like the decisions we have made were the right decisions, or even the best decisions. Mia is only 20 months old and she has had to endure more than most people during her short 20 months of life. I just wish I could take it all away, that I could be the one going through all of this rather than her. I am sorry that this post is so pessimistic, I am just having a difficult time and I need to get this off my chest and this is the best place for me to vent, you all know the pain I am feeling.

We are planning to use her arm splints to help with patch time. I just hope that we have not lost all that we have worked so hard to save.

To all the parents that are faced with surgery, it is hard, the hardest situation you will ever be placed in, and going in the operating room to assist with putting your child under is the hardest part. I have done this 4 times and it does not get any easier.

I have attached a few pictures of Mia. I hope everyone is doing great, and you all had a wonderful Christmas and/or holiday season.

There’s been a few questions posted at the Little Four Eyes facebook group about where to go to get glasses, especially when local stores don’t have a good (or any) selection of very small frames.  So where did everyone get their child’s glasses?  Independent optical shop?  Chain optical shop?  A big retailer like Wal-Mart or Target?  Did anyone have a shop order frames special for their child?  Anyone order frames online and bring them to a shop?