A Visit to the Eye Doctor

Yesterday Ellie had a visit to see the ophthalmologist! Unfortunately the appointment was smack dab in the middle of nap time (this particular doctor came highly recommended, but as such, had limited availability), and as the office was running behind, we were there quite some time before Ellie was able to be seen. By the time the important tests were to be run, Ellie was running short of patience and enthusiasm (having a cold didn't help matters either). While she didn't have to read letters off a chart like the one above, she did get to look at colorful stickers, watch a video of a dancing stuffed puppy and chicken, and look at two different doctors with crazy head gear and lights. From the way she behaved, you would have thought we were back at the office with the needles (actually, we're going there again Monday). In the end, we left with a prescription for baby glasses and an appointment to return in 8 weeks. This time, at 9:15AM!

Some of you may wonder why Ellie went to see a pediatric ophthalmologist. If you haven't met her in person, it may be difficult to detect from photographs posted on this blog, but Ellie has a condition called Amblyopia caused by strabismus (misaligned eyes) and astigmatism. Strabismus is quite common in children who live much of their early life in orphanages. In Ellie's case, she had little to focus her eyes on beyond the distance of her hands from her face and as a result, she used her right eye much more than her left. Fortunately it is correctable and glasses are the first line of attack. You can pray that she will be agreeable to wearing them! (We have our doubts)!

If we were ever to return to her orphanage, I would bring 8 mobiles to set over each of the baby cribs so those little one would have more to look at than just their hands and the white ceiling above their heads. I wonder if something as simple as that would make a difference for many of them. If you spent time with the children in the room next door (for the 2-3 year-olds), many of them had much more apparent vision problems. It would break your heart because it's something that seems so preventable if only they had more stimulation.