Did I already mention that I feel like a terrible parent?
Jackson and his eye glass wearing friend Dinosaur Davis
We got a call from his preschool nurse to let us know that he had failed not one, but two eye tests. One that they do for Kindergarten screening that is the normal eye chart type of test and another one that involves a picture of his eye. I wasn't too concerned right away because he just never had the normal signs of someone with bad eyesight, (headaches, rubbing of the eyes, squinting, etc.) The signs that he did show we were assuming had to do with him being a clumsy, active 4-year-old.
We made an appointment with the eye doctor and at one point the doctor held lenses over my eyes so I could see what Jackson was seeing. Holy cow! It was bad. I mean, bad, bad. Like I don't even understand how he's been able to do anything, bad. I almost cried I felt so guilty. The doctor, however, reassured me that it was actually quite hard to catch bad eyesight in a lot of kids. Especially if their eyes have always been this way. They don't know any different from what they have always seen, even if that means blurry.
I know he was trying to make me feel better but I still felt awful. Who wouldn't? He had basically lived his life without knowing what the small details looked like. Things like leaves on trees. To him they just looked like a big blurry blob around a tree. I was anxious for Jackson to get his glasses and begin to see all the things he had been missing out on.
At first, he resisted the glasses. By resisted, I mean he screamed and cried and told me "no way" about a million times. But, once he finally put them on and looked around it didn't take long for him to realize what a difference it was. We were driving down the road a few days after he got the glasses and I heard him say, "Wow, that looks different!"
I am so very happy that he can see better! And, I can't deny that he looks awfully cute in those glasses!
12 comments:
Okay when you mentioned the leaves....that hurt my heart. :(
Seriously Ali...kids adapt so well and it's like the Dr. said if he has always seen that way he wouldn't know any better and wouldn't be capable of telling you he would just adapt at dealing with it making it hard for you to tell!
I'm so happy you caught it before school though! Now I'm wondering if I should take my little girl in and have her eyes and ears checked before school starts.
Hugs Mama...hugs!
I was in your shoes a year ago but picture it with my 8 year old boy. We never put two and two together that he liked to sit close to the TV or in the front of a classroom. When he asked what the score was one day on the TV, I knew it was bad. And the guilt as a parent is terrible. But it has been a year now and he is no worse for it. And it does truly make them appreciate the "little things" Just smile and take lots of pictures cause soon they want contacts =)
Jackson looks adorable in his new glasses. It's like discovering a whole new world is out there!
I do understand what you are saying as a Momma! We had the same thing happen to us with our youngest daughter when she was in preschool. I only took her in to have her eyes checked because we thought her older sister had an eyesight issue- turns out her sister was fine and she wasn't. It was about 2 years after her first pair of glasses that the optometrist showed me what she was able to see without the glasses- it was pretty amazing. She can't see much at all at a distance- just blurry, blurry images. It does make your heart hurt as a mother!
My daughter got her first pair of glasses when she was in Grade 4 (she's in grade 10 now!) We knew her vision was bad due to astigmatism but were waiting to see if it 'corrected'. What I remember most was her telling me she could see each hair on my head and the bark on a tree and being absolutely astounded. It broke my heart. However, all she remembers is that we got her glasses. Not that it took us so long to get them for her!!
I remember when I got glasses. I was ten and the first thing I said was about the leaves on the trees and the second thing was being able to read signs along the road.
How cute he is with glasses, love that face of his. Hope you do a layout about this!
Don't feel bad about it, when they are that young it's hard to know and they don't know to tell you yet. It's a whole new world out there for him to see now! I still remember getting mine in 6th grade and being amazed at the trees, signs and the down the halls in school.
Could he get any cuter!!!
He looks very cute in his glasses! I went through the same thing as a kid. My sight was terrible, but I didn't know any different until I finally got glasses and I figured out there were actually blades of grass. I recently had an exam and my eyes have significantly gotten worse since my last appointment and I am loving my new glasses! There are so many corrective things these days with eyes, he will have full advantage of that as he gets older. So glad you were able to help him and share with us.
My Mom went through the same thing with my brother. When he finally got glasses at 8 years old, he said, "Those are birds in the sky? I always thought it was just spotty."
A bad parent KNOWS their kid can't see and doesn't do anything about it. A good parent takes their kid to the eye doctor when the school nurse alerts them to the problem. Which category do you fall in again? Oh yes, the good parent category. Seriously, as a person who has needed glasses most of my life, the fact that my parents didn't know this right out of the gate doesn't bother me in the slightest (and I hold a pretty good grudge, thank you very much). You found out, you handled it and all is well. You will make many mistakes as a parent that you will feel badly about; this shouldn't be one of them. Just my two cents....
Oh, and when my mother was in first grade she came home from school and complained that she couldn't see. My grandmother rushed her to the eye doctor, who couldn't find anything wrong. My grandmother turned to my mother who finally told her that she couldn't see because the girl sitting in front of her had a gigantic bouffant hairdo that blocked her view! : - )
Those glasses are stylin'!
It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who's gone through this! Thank you for sharing your stories and experiences! It definitely makes me feel better about it all to hear them.
he does look adorable in his glasses!! Please, try not to feel guilty (I'd say *don't* feel guilty, but I know you're a mom, so it's tough not to, when things are going on with your kids). I got my glasses in third grade, and I don't remember much of anything about how it was beforehand, to tell you the truth. (I'm 44 now, so I've been wearing them a looong time, lol!) I'm sure Jackson won't remember what it was like beforehand, either.
You figured out what it was, and you fixed it- that's the important thing!!
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