Gavin and Gwen went to the eye doctor yesterday.
Gwen’s sty on her eye is looking a lot better thanks to some real advice from the optometrist. The pediatrician was no help. Friends give unsolicited advice that is no help. At least I finally landed on something that works for her.
Prevention – well, there really is no preventing stys. If a person is susceptible they will get them. However, the optometrist said I need to really scrub her eyes well each time she bathes. Then make sure she is taking good care of her eyes when she’s old enough to wear makeup.
Onset – when a sty threatens to form put warm compresses on it until you’re blue in the face. Good to know. We hadn’t been doing enough.
Coming to a head – if the sty persists and turns into a nasty infected pimple on her eyelid then use a warm washcloth to massage her eyelid towards the lash line. The pores should open enough for the sty to drain. Then rinse her eyes with eye drops.
Gavin’s prescription changed again. One eye got worse while the other stayed the same. I do worry this kid will be legally blind before he hits high school. The optometrist is concerned that his prescription changes every year. She offered the weird contact solution again. This is where he wears contacts at night. They correct his eyes while he sleeps and he should wake up with 20/20 vision. It’s not a permanent fix but over time the contacts should keep his eyes from getting worse.
Heath and I have many concerns about this. My biggest concern is how will we get Gavin to wear contacts? This is the kid that won’t ever let me cut his nails without a screaming match. I have given up even trying. I don’t know how he gets the job done and frankly, I don’t want to know! Gavin is also the kid that hates having his hair cut. That’s another fight if I do it. If we take him somewhere he freaks out the whole way there. The last time he got his hair cut by a professional he wouldn’t let her trim his neck. I hate neck hair!
Now someone is telling me that nightly contacts will keep my child’s eyesight from getting worse. And only for the reasonable cost of a small country.
The other thing she said is that she is concerned with different visual skills that are weak in Gavin. I guess everyone is born with these innate skills but some people really struggle with it. These are skills that glasses or contacts or surgery can’t address. Skills like tracking or coordination.
If left unchecked these weaknesses develop into struggles in school as well as other aspects of life. It’s a fascinating concept. She gave me a questionnaire to fill out to see how Gavin rates. She also wants to do an initial screening on him to see where he falls and if he would be a good candidate for the clinic she runs in the office. But she never said anything about price so I’m thinking I will have to rob three banks just to think about it.
Obviously I want to do what’s best for Gavin. I want him to have every opportunity to be successful in life. I just don’t know what to do or think. Heath is very hesitant for various reasons which I can understand. School has been such a frustrating experience for Gavin and us, as his parents. I just wonder if there is something to this. It didn’t come from a teacher – a person who can’t diagnose anything. It came from a medical professional. A pediatric optometrist that I really like and trust.
But then I hear all these messages that make it seem like the world is trying to screw everyone over. I babysat for a friend yesterday while she ran to the dentist for a cleaning. When she came back she was telling me she wants to change dentists. She had the impression he feels threatened anytime she asks a question. Plus, her family has so many medical issues that complicate life that she doesn’t want to add anything more to their bodies. She read somewhere that cavities can heal themselves with proper nutrition and oral hygiene. She also read that fillings add hormones to girls and she’s already worried about how early girls are maturing.
Personally, I don’t think the dentist is trying to get her money over taking care of her family. We already saw that dentist! But I’m not her and I don’t deal with the pressures and concerns she has with her family’s needs. I know there are medical professionals that have forgotten the people they care for in the name of making more money. I know insurance companies screw people over all the time. Everyone is trying to protect themselves to the point that the people who need the help are unfairly caught in the middle.
I don’t know who to trust. All I know is that Gavin is brilliant but that intelligence isn’t always coming out where and when it needs to. I don’t know how to get him to “play the game” so to speak. He bombed a math test recently and I had to crack up at one of his answers. He was supposed to make up and put three fractions in order and then tell how he knew it was correct. He said, “I know it’s right because I did the steps exactly how I was told.” I would give him a high five if I knew he meant to be snotty! But that’s not Gavin so I just laugh.
Anyway, it’s a dilemma with no clear answers. I think I will sew some more. When in doubt, sew.
Sew indeed…the answer is sew or craft.
I think I would go with the eye clinic if it might help Gavin. Maybe you could mortgage his future earnings as an inventor to pay for it. There is definitely something affecting his school work because he is so much smarter than comes across in his grades. I have no idea how you would get him to wear contacts. I can not see him getting them in or out.
Have you ever ask the eye doctor about optic nerve atrophy? Grandpa is really getting worse but won’t admit it.
If you used warm compresses (which is my solution too) wouldn’t you get red in the face not blue? Let’s not even think about her being old enough to wear make up.
Thanks for your comment, Dawn. I was thinking of calling you for your opinion. Gavin is very smart and unfortunately no teachers believe it. When the optometrist was talking it all seemed to make sense. At least it’s worth trying. I would rather do this than let the school qualify him for occupational therapy because he has bad handwriting. He can have good handwriting but he has so much busy work he doesn’t have time to write well.
I have never thought to ask the eye doctor about optic nerve atrophy. If Barry has it maybe it has passed on to Gavin. All this eye stuff is new to me. I just went to the eye doctor as a kid and was told I needed glasses. End of story. I had no idea there could be so much more to it.
I know! The makeup thing! So scary. And ha ha for red in the face not blue.
There is an hereditary component to the optic nerve atrophy. Neither of our boys have it but it may have carried over to Gavin. Don’t let teachers judge you child. Keep telling him all the different ways to show he is smart and school is only one way and not a particularly effective one at that.