Oh, The Places You'll Go!

There's the book "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Suess.  I have read this book so many times, have heard people read this book aloud numerous times, and have heard it integrated into speeches at a variety of occasions over the past several years.  I have just recently reread this book and it takes on a different perspective now having gone through the past 7 months with M.

Here's an excerpt of my new found passages that have taken on new meaning for me, my little girl, and a life after congenital cataract surgery.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.

You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

(This is what I think and feel most days when I think about M and her cataract!)

I'm sorry to say so

but, sadly it's true

that Bang-ups

and Hang-ups

can happen to you.

You can get all hung up

in a prickle-ly perch.

And your gang will fly on.

You'll be left in a Lurch.

(Congenital cataract diagnosis at 9 months old.)

You'll come down from the Lurch

with an unpleasant bump.

And the chances are, then

that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,

you're not in for much fun.

Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

(This is describing our post-surgery days...)

The Waiting Place...

for people just waiting.

Everyone is just waiting.

(Waiting and waiting, and hoping for patching to be working and make it all worth it in the end - we wait, we wait and see.)

NO!

That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying.

You'll find the bright places

where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping

once more you'll ride high!

Ready for anything under the sky.

Ready because you're that kind of guy!

And will you succeed?

Yes!  You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

(This is what I hope for her future!)

Spot the Patch!

These days M is going through 1 to 3 patches a day.  The occasional patch gets ripped off when she is supposed to be napping, or gets angry that she is still in her car seat.

When I take her patch off at the end of the day she is allowed to hold and carry her patch around.  She thinks that it is some kind of reward - she holds it in her hands, walks around with, occasionally tries to stick back on her somewhere in the middle of her forehead.  I like when she does this - kind of shows that she is aware that she wears the patch, that it has come off, and that even when it's off it is still a little part of her.  

Eventually she forgets about it, and usually just drops it where she is playing.  

Can you spot the patch?

M's Check Up

I took M back to the Children's Hospital for her scheduled check at the surgeon's office a few days ago.  She saw the assistant again and was given an all clear for any issues.

It is suspected that she is developing vision at a greater distance at this point.  She is able to focus and fixate on a particular object that is smaller in size at a farther and farther distance.  It was 3 visits ago that this seemed to be something that I had noticed and they seemed to notice in her examination, and it has seemingly continued to develop during the time between these last 2 visits.  I'm not really sure what it means, other than she is continuing to respond and progress with the patching she is doing at this point.

We are to continue patching M for all waking hours except an hour before bed, until the next visit which is in just over 6 weeks!  Longest span so far between visits; mostly pushed a little because we have a vacation planned...

Pears

My Busy Little One...

So M is active - like really active.  I know, I know, people will say she's not active, or 'not that bad', or they've always seen someone more active than her.  But she is fiery!

If you take her anywhere, she hates to be held or not allowed to be put down because she wants to roam around and look at things.  Sure - usual behaviour for a 16 month old but...  The real issue here is that for her to look at all the items in a store for example, she has to get down from my arms or out of her stroller, and sprint around the store to every item so that it is about an inch away from her unpatched eye.  This is where her clearest vision point is at this point with this contact.  She's wild!  She runs around, getting super close to everything, just to really check it out.  This doesn't make for a very easy child in a store.

We took her to a barbeque a few weeks back and she was running back and forth in the backyard darting between the climber and the trampoline.  There were kids on both structures and she wanted to see both sets of kids on the play equipment.  So she'd be at the climber examining and watching what was going on, and then when she heard kids having fun on the trampoline she'd run over there to examine what was happening.  By the time she'd make it to the trampoline, something she thought sounded interesting would happen at the climber so she'd have to race back to see what was happening.

Eventually I felt so sorry for her, having to dart back and forth so many times, I unpatched her.  It was getting later in the day, and cut her patching for the day short by an hour maybe...  I unpatched her while she was sitting on my lap and she sat in my lap watching what was happening in all of the yard from one spot.  She no longer had to dart from place to place to see what others were doing.  She sat, content, in one spot, and watched what was happening all around her from the safety of her mom's lap.

This is one way that patching changes the behaviour of my child on a daily basis.  Not necessarily for the worse, but just a different behaviour that takes some energy on her part and mine.

Goofy Kid with a Patch

Diaper Bag

There are some items in my diaper bag that I didn't need with my first child.  M has changed the look of a diaper bag, and made it a necessary bag to take with me everywhere I go - no matter what!

This diaper bag doesn't even really need the diapers and wipes; most importantly I need the contact case, solution, and eye drops.  I think I now have an eye bag, that includes a few diapers...

Trouble in the Car

For the past few weeks M has been a nightmare in the carseat with her patch.  A short drive into or around town always ends with her pulling off her patch.

We haven't used, needed to use, the arm restraints I had purchased a few months ago.  She has been so well behaved when it came to her patching, so these arm bands were just sitting on the shelf.

Since the start of this patch ripping in the car, I've put these on M for most car rides.  And she tolerates them!  She has yet to cry or fuss when I put them on her in the car, and of course it doesn't allow her the opportunity to rip off her patch.

So far, since we've now sadly found a use for the arm restraints, they have been working pretty well to provide with a patched and somewhat happy baby in the car.

Hopefully the reason for this new desire to rip off her patches, are the several monstrous teeth cutting through her gums...  Blaming it on teeth!