High five to the person who can tell me what is different about Miles in this picture.
Okay, if you follow me on Instagram or have seen Miles in the last 3 weeks, then this isn't news. Miles has been wearing glasses since November 1st. Isn't he cute?
Turns out he has accommodative estropia (the most common type of strabismus) and resultant amblyopia. Apparently this condition is not uncomfortable for children and occurs at an age when they will not complain of any problem, which Miles never did. As far as I knew, he could see fine. He could always point out different objects from far away as well as near (i.e. when we read books). He could even hit a baseball when Jeremy would pitch to him. None of his teachers at school ever suggested that he might be having trouble either.
It wasn't until his 4 year well check when he failed his vision screen that we knew he might be having problems. And sure enough. The opthalmologist told me that he has difficulty with depth perception and has probably never seen anything clearly before. Cue the heartbreak and guilt in never picking up on this before. I have since realized that there was one clue that we didn't know was a clue. So if you're reading this and have young children or grandchildren, maybe this will help.
Miles loves books, and we noticed that whenever we would read he would often tip his head to the side just slightly when he really wanted to see a picture. I always thought he was just really interested and curious - trying to take it all in. But, sometimes children do this when they are having trouble focusing so they accommodate in this way.
Glasses is the first and hopefully the only treatment that Miles will need. He has done super with transitioning into his glasses. It doesn't bother him to wear them and keep them on. I'm thankful for that. But in just three short weeks, the lenses are already scratched up despite them being scratch resistant. Apparently that doesn't apply to toddlers. I did however, discover Zenni where you can buy glasses on the cheap, so once Miles gets into a more stable prescription (he goes back for another exam in 3 weeks and any necessary adjustments will be made) I will order a second and possibly third pair for him.
SO. For Miles' 2012 Medical Bucket List (I must assume he's got one - good grief!) we can scratch off broken leg (March) and now glasses. Oh, but that's not all. I've still got to write about our adventures in Hawaii.
It's a doozy.
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