A Cautionary Tale

I have heard several stories of our children that have come home from China and have had eyesight issues; enough stories that I decided to make an appointment with a Pediatric Opthamologist appointment for Katie Starr. I was going to make the appointment after our journey to Bring Ethan home but at my Mother's urging I made it before. My Mom had worked for several years for a great one in our area so it really was a no brainer. There were some small signs that made me a bit concerned such as minor squinting, sitting too close to the TV, etc., but I really thought that there were no real issues. I thought that this would be a routine appointment with a clean bill of eye health given at the end. Well, I was very wrong I am quite sorry to say. The good news is that Katie has healthy eyes with no underlying disease. The bad news is that she is nearsighted in both eyes with her left eye being twice as bad as her right as well as having astigmatism in both eyes. She will have to wear glasses all of the time and the Dr. told me that if I had not caught it this early her left eye would have started drifting and become virtually useless thus putting additional strain on the right eye.

The reason that I am sharing this so quickly even though I am in the midst of a packing frenzy and winding up my business is that it is so important to remember that we have virtually no history on our children and that it is up to us to build one where and when we can. The basis in that is a good pediatrician who covers as many bases as possible when you arrive home and then if you see ANY signs at all of a particular health issue please go get your child checked out by a specialist; no matter how small the signs may seem at the time. It may make all the difference in the world in your child's outcome.