Finding Out About Megan's Eye Condition

Guess you would have read from Sal's blog that Megan's wearing glasses now.

All we can say is that we are thankful that we found out about it early.

People have asked us - how did you find out?

Well, by God's grace. Sally and Megan were taking a walk. And it's our family's habit that when we're walking, we like to play "I Spy" game - eg "I Spy" the numbers 101, or "I Spy" the following letters Bishan, etc (You get the idea... ).

Well, Sal realised that Meg can't read the BIG (I mean BIG) numbers on the block. And back at home, we also tested her and we somewhat knew that we are facing a situation. So, we arranged to see an eye specialist. What an experience! Meg had to go through several tests and the most traumatic for her were the eyedrop incident. The nurses had to administer eyedrops to dilate her eyes (and I'm sorry to say that the nurses/staff aren't very good with kids). And one of the solution caused some pain to Meg's eyes (and we had to put that like 3 times) and Meg started to bawl at the clinic. And of course, the nurses weren't much help. Took us a long time to pacify my 4 year old. (Read: OUR 4 year old little girl).

Anyway, we found out that she has lazy eye condition (and that it is not an eye condition but a growing-up-years brain development issue) and astigmatism. (Read below to find out more and you should - cause firstly it's educational and 2ndly, there is a punch line at the end of it - para that is in blue and bold/underlined).

Amblyopia (Lazy eye)
Introduction:Sometimes even children with perfect eyes can't see well.

How can this be?
What is it?Practice makes perfect. Young eyes need practice in order for mature vision to develop in the brain. For this to happen, a clear image of the world needs to land on the retina and be transmitted to the visual cortex of the brain.Amblyopia is the loss of vision caused when a clear image of the world is not available on the retina during key periods of development. The visual cortex of the brain develops dramatically in babies and young children. It continues to develop throughout the first decade of life.Anything that interferes with a normal image on the retina during this time can lead to amblyopia – a loss of vision that continues even if no problem remains in the eye.

Who gets it?Amblyopia might occur in strabismus, when one eye deviates to the side and isn’t used as much. It might occur if there is unequal vision in the two eyes from astigmatism, or if one eye is more nearsighted or farsighted than the other. It might occur if there is a cataract blocking vision in one eye, or if there has been an injury.Whatever the cause, if the “lazy” eye relaxes, the vision in that eye gets worse, and a destructive cycle begins. The initial difference between the eyes does not have to be dramatic.Amblyopia can also occur if there is a severe blurring of vision in both eyes, as in severe nearsightedness or farsightedness.Amblyopia only begins during the first ten years of life. It is more likely, and often more serious, the younger the child is when the retina is not receiving a clear image.

What are the symptoms?Most amblyopia is discovered during routine eye screening – without any symptoms having been noticed. The symptom of amblyopia is decreased visual acuity, but this is not usually found unless the child has her vision checked.An eye that deviates, cloudiness in one eye, or any signs or symptoms of nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism might suggest that amblyopia is developing as a result.

Is it contagious?No

How long does it last?If normal vision is not restored to the eye by about age 6, some degree of vision loss will probably be permanent. Usually a lazy eye should be diagnosed by age 3 in order to restore normal vision to that eye by age 6.

If normal vision not restored by 6, some degree of vision loss will probably be permanent! diagnosed by 3?!? When we read this, we were thinking - Oh my word! Meg's 4 - 2 years to 6 yo. And only diagnosed at 4! We were also thinking - goodness, over the last 4 years, Meg has been seeing this beautiful world created by God, in a possible blur state.

Here's the thing - if you are parent reading this - please ignore the possible teases / weird looks from strangers. What's more important is our kids and their health. Forget the condescending looks from strangers (in fact Sal met one auntie at United Square who did that tsk-tsk-tsk thing - if I were there, I would have given her a piece of my mind and told her to mind her own business and also not jump to conclusions). What was important to us was that we need her to get her eyes corrected and if a pair of glasses will do the job, then so be it. God created this beautiful world for her to enjoy. Imagine her seeing a very diffused Dad and Mom and Joe Joe and Grandma/Grandpa, Auntie Bea and Auntie Jen, etc... if she can see better, she can learn to read better, draw better, etc etc... imagine the possibilities.

This is a Do Now thing. It'll be too late if we defer this longer. Her vision may be permanently impaired! So off we went to hunt for a nice pair of glasses... and we found one at Nanyang Optical - a pair of Mickey Mouse spectacles and I have to say the Optometrist/Optician (his name is Arian) is very nice and definitely made Meg and Mom feel at ease. And boy does Meg look good too! (A very proud Dad - she looks good with or without glasses! Hahah!)

So, we're really glad that we found out about it... and help her through it. (btw, her very dedicated Dad went to the library to hunt for a book with the title "I Need Glasses" to read to her and help her process her feelings, etc... haha!)

Enough of my rambling - just wanted to thank God that He showed us that we needed to help Meg... I see this as a half full cup situation. At least we "arrested" it and can work towards recovery and pray that God will bring a miraculous healing someday!

Dad.

Anyway, to read more, check out this website http://www.drgreene.com/21_1024.html or you can type Lazy Eye and run a Google check and you'll get tons of info on it.