little four eyes

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.