Glasses on Hold

We got home yesterday evening from Pender Island, and as expected, had a great time. Also as expected, Asher didn't sleep well, so that put a bit of a damper on things. Only a bit of a damper though - when you are having that much fun you can put up with some tiredness. But today.....zzzzzz....that's another story.

Of course, because it seems as though we can go only minutes between appointments, the boys saw their opthalmologist first thing this morning.

Well there's good news and bad news. The good news is that a) Asher's strabismus is not getting worse, and in fact he is controlling it better than he was 8 months ago, and b) the boys don't need glasses. Yet.

The bad news is that the boys definitely need glasses. 8 months ago we were told they would need them by school age and that Nolan was more myopic than Asher. This time, Asher's had worsened and now he has the poorer vision of the two. He said it is to the point that Asher would probably appreciate glasses and want to wear them because they would significantly improve his vision. There's always a BUT though. Our opthalmologist (who specializes in pediatrics) strongly believes that if myopia is treated in children before it is absolutely necessary, it quickens the deterioration. So he would prefer to leave Asher and Nolan without glasses for as long as possible to prevent their eyes from worsening.

On the one hand, it sounds a little bit cruel that they "could" see better but we're not letting them, but on the other hand, as he says their world is still very small and contained, and they have no reason to see beyond a few feet in front of them. When the time comes that they need to see further and more detailed, we will reevaluate.

I feel good about this decision. Because of their prematurity (and because we were made aware of their myopia 8 months ago) we knew their eyes were at great risk so I watch them carefully to see if they are working harder to see things. They never seem to adjust toys or books to get a better look or ever struggle to see something. Our friends' healthy, full term 18 month old wears glasses and the parents knew there was something wrong because it was obvious to them she couldn't see things in front of her. Thankfully, that is definitely not the case with the boys.

In six months we see the vision therapist who works with the doctor to ensure neither of their strabismus has worsened significantly (if it has that is a bigger case to get glasses sooner as glasses would help strengthen their eyes and keep them in line). We then see the opthalmologist six months from then (a year from now) for more thorough testing, at which time the glasses decision will be revisited.

For now, status quo. Cute little blue eyes won't be magnified behind glass for a while yet.