Off she goes...

M is starting daycare regularly September 3.  We have a few visits before our daycare is really needed, to get everyone ready for this transition.  I wrote daycare a little letter to help them better understand this part of M's life.

Dear Daycare,

I was born February 28, 2012.

I had cataract eye surgery on my right eye November 23, 2012 just before I turned 9 months old.  They removed the lens of my right eye, so now I have to wear a contact that my mom and dad put in every morning when I wake up and take out before I go to bed. 

Since I didn’t have surgery until I was 9 months old I have to work really hard at patching in hopes that I develop vision in my right eye.  If I didn’t have the surgery I would have been blind in that eye.  So I patch all day everyday, no matter what.  All day means all hours of the day that I am awake, except maybe an hour in total.  That’s usually in the morning before I get my patch on, and a little before bed when my parents take off the patch.  

I’m pretty good at wearing my patch.  Sometimes I try to take it off, but my mom says ‘No Maggie, leave your patch on’.  I listen most of the time.  Sometimes if I’m left alone in my crib, or get angry I’ll rip it off even when she tells me not to.  My patch is kind of easy to put on.  My parents always put a little layer of Cavilon cream around my left eye where the patch adhesive touches before the patch goes on.  This helps the patch come off without ripping my skin.  I usually have to lie down to get my patch on, and most of the time I don’t want them to put it on.  But as soon as it’s on, I deal with it and go on my way with few issues.

When I am wearing my patch it’s much more difficult for me to see.  I have no depth perception which means I trip and fall a lot.  Sometimes my mom helps and says ‘Maggie step’ if I’m walking and getting close to a change in heights in the ground.  This helps me in new places, but once I get used to a place she doesn’t need to tell me much.  I also bonk my head and body a lot because I can’t see as much around me as other kids my age.  My mom will say ‘Maggie head’ and I’m usually pretty good to slow down and figure out what’s going to hurt my head. 

My mom wears contacts to help her see but they aren’t quite the same as mine.  My contact only makes my vision clear within the first few feet of me.  If I really want to see something and examine it, I will get my head and eye very close to it.  Sometimes I get close to people too to take a good look at them.  I rely a lot on sound to know where to go, and sometimes I can get lost, and not know which direction I should be going.  Because my contact makes my vision really clear close up I am also pretty busy!  If there are lots of things going on, I want to see it all, so I am busy going back and forth to things so that I can see what is going on. 

My mom has also been working at teaching me to stop and say ‘eye’ when my contact is bothering me.  Sometimes I will stop, say ‘eye’ if there is something in my eye, or if my contact has fallen out.  As soon as I say ‘eye’, if I stop playing suddenly, or if I rub my eye, my mom checks my eye.  She also checks my eye about 100 other times during the day just to make sure the contact is still in there.  My contact costs $175 and she tells me that’s a lot of money – I tell her it’s all relative!

My mom also packed me my contact bag – she takes it everywhere we go!  It’s just a Ziploc full of things that help me: contact solution, eye drops, Cavilon cream, and extra patches.  If ever she has to make a choice between a diaper bag and the contact bag, she always chooses the contact bag.

If my contact falls out when I’m playing, just tell me not to move while you look for it.  A lot of times it’s just coming out of my eye, on my clothes, or just below on the ground.  Take a look for it, but don’t obsess over finding it.  My mother obsesses over finding it, and it’s annoying for me.  When it falls out, and if you find it, just fill up the contact case with solution and put the contact in, and close up the case.  Make sure to take off my patch right away, because without my contact I can’t see anything when I’m wearing the patch.

If you take my patch off, tell me ‘Maggie I’m going to take your patch off’.  I sit super still for this because I love getting my patch off!  If I sit on your lap you can peel the patch off starting at my nose and peeling outward.  If you press on the skin near where you are peeling it helps to not pull on my skin or tear my skin which can then bleed.  My parents always cheer for me when I get my patch off and tell me I’m such a good girl!  They usually let me hold my patch when it comes off for a while – I carry it around like a trophy.  Mom told me I probably won’t be allowed to do that at daycare which will be ok I’m sure, plus she told me I’m supposed to be wearing my patch all day at daycare anyways!

My parents are mostly over it.  Sometimes they still get upset when people ask ‘what’s wrong with her’ or ‘what happened to her’, instead of commenting about me or how cool my patches are.

Eventually (or sooner), you will get used to my patch and contact, and you will start to forget I even wear a patch!  I’m like the coolest and cutest little girl, and I sport a patch!