About 2 weeks after surgery at age 10 months
Now....
3.5 years old at a regular appointment
What I've learned these last 3 years:
Patching a child is difficult.
Just because I don't want to put a patch on her doesn't mean I won't.
She is more resilient than I would have ever guessed or known.
Brown drugstore patches are the worst - decorative patches are the best!
Just because she wears a patch doesn't mean everyone should feel they have a right to comment about it.
Surgery and patching were right for her. We know she is lucky to have had surgery with no complications, and contact wear and patching with no 'real' complications. Even still, it doesn't seem easy!
She has had the best care givers who have been able to care for her and her patching/contact needs.
When the surgeon tells parents that surgery is scary and a lot to think about, but it's after surgery that all the work happens - the surgeon is right.
If M could just magically gain vision without patching in her eye that had the cataract and subsequent surgery, I would choose to not patch her. Patching really sucks.
Patching just becomes a part of everyday life.
The last three years of relentless patching has resulted in a vision outcome for that eye that was way beyond what we had hoped, expected, and dreamed of. Going into surgery the surgeon had optimistically suggested that the 'best case scenario' for vision for her in that eye would be 20/50.
After surgery she started at a vision of 20/2200. What 'we' can see at 2200 feet she would be able to see at 20 feet.
Now she's at 20/40, almost 20/30. What 'we' can see at 30 feet she would be able to see at 20 feet.
She's passed her 'best case scenario' and she is still patching full-time, everyday all day, in hopes of some more vision changes. Next appointment is in a few weeks!
We are so proud of her and all her hard work!
