Zack Rippy

As some of you know, we had an appointment for Taylor in Birmingham at UAB on Monday. We went to see a child eye-muscle specialist. Several months ago, we noticed that Taylor’s left eye began to ??wander.’ It still moves normally with his right eye, just a little late. You can notice it in the picture below.

Taylor’s pediatrician referred to us to UAB. Taylor hates going to the doctor. I mean hates it. So, we really weren’t sure what to expect. When we arrived, I filled out the requisite mountain of paperwork and they made a copy of our insurance card. Then, the receptionist said, “We have a playroom in the back if you would like to take him back there to play.” It was a really cool room with lots of toys and games. Toy Story 2 (a current favorite of his) was on the television in the room. We were there less than five minutes before a nurse came to take us back to one of the patient rooms. The setup was really nice. Rather than freak out little kids by placing them on a white paper-covered table, they just have one parent sit in a chair with the child on their lap. I sat there and held Taylor while she asked us some basic questions. Then, she moved around a little flashlight with a Big Bird head to observe his eye movement and peripheral vision. She was very nice and Taylor liked her a lot. When she left the room, he said, “A nice yady” (nice lady).

A few minutes later, the doctor arrived. He was obviously used to dealing with children. He used the same “Big Bird” light to check his eye movement. He used several prism-looking objects on his eyes. He turned Toy Story on in the exam room and had Taylor watch it while he moved various objects around, charting his eyes responses.

He told us he was through and began writing up the diagnosis. He said Taylor has esotropia strabismus. It is the result of a lack of coordination between a person’s two eyes. The brain will then receive either a blurry or double image from the affected eye. When that happens, the brain will eventually disregard the image completely and effectively ignore that eye. If untreated, it can lead to blindness in the one eye. He said that Taylor had already stopped using his left eye.

The good news is that the doctor said Taylor’s left eye is still perfectly healthy and normal. We caught it early and early treatment at this stage leads to almost 100% reversal. There are three treatment options: corrective lenses (glasses), a patch or surgery. The glasses and /or patch have about a 60% reversal rate, with surgery being a successful choice if the first two do not work. He gave us a prescription for bifocal glasses and for eye drops. We have to put a drop of this solution in his right (good) eye. This will dilate that eye and also cause slight blurriness. This will encourage him to use his left eye. The glasses will basically correct the problem completely whenever he is wearing them. Eventually, the hope is that the glasses will completely reverse the condition and then he will no longer need them. If not, the doctor can have us patch his right eye, which would completely force him to use his left. If that were not to work either, then surgery could correct it.

We asked how we could get him to keep his glasses on at this age. The doctor told us that Taylor has grown accustomed to seeing with one eye and/or getting a blurry image from his left eye. The glasses will allow him to see normally out of both eyes. Once he realizes how much better he sees with the glasses, he will not want to be without them. He said he would literally ask us for them as soon as he wakes up in the morning.

We went yesterday to look at frames for him. I had visions of all children’s frames being thick plastic giants reminiscent of Ralphie in A Christmas Story. I was pleasantly surprised. We found some very attractive, wire-framed glasses that look really nice on him and that bend and twist at every joint to hopefully prevent complete destructions at the hands of a two year-old. They have to send away for the lenses, so we should have his glasses within a week.

I am very thankful that it appears this problem can be corrected. I hope and pray that glasses will be all that is needed. However, it is reassuring to know that regardless of what treatment is ultimately necessary, the success rate is so high. It is also very comforting to know that he is being treated by the staff at UAB. Those guys are top-notch. That is where my parents had their kidney transplant several years ago, and I could not be more impressed with their facilities and personnel. Everyone there made Taylor, Marie and I feel perfectly at ease.

This was mainly just to keep our family and friends in the loop on what is going on. I’ll post occasional updates as the treatment progresses. I’ll also put up a few pictures of Taylor in his glasses when they arrive.

We are believing for a complete healing of Taylor’s eye. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 10th, 2006 at 8:18 am and is filed under In My Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.