Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Here we go...

My eight year old daughter needs not only braces (which is no surprise to anyone who has seen photos like this):



but she also needs glasses.


She started complaining, a month or so ago, about her eyes "going blurry" when she read. She has always LOVED to read, but she stopped doing it because her eyes bothered her. We couldn't have that, so I made an appointment for her. Frankly, I suspected the doctor would tell us that her vision is perfect and then she'd have no more excuses. And the thing is, her long-distance and reading vision IS perfect...but her peripheral vision is not. After a whole bunch of tests, the doctor showed us, in simple terms, what he found. He had a small white bottle with a red cap on it; he started out parallel with her ear and brought it around slowly, instructing her to tell him when she could see the red cap. She couldn't see it until it was at about 11:00 o'clock in front of her! So what this means is that, as she is reading, her eyes are struggling to adjust to what is going on off to the side of her, and that's what is causing the blurriness. The great news is that it is NOT degenerative and in fact can be 99.9% treated with light therapy and these special glasses that don't correct her vision but allow more light to come in from the sides so that her eyes won't have to work so hard.
So today we pick out frames and she is oddly VERY excited! I know the novelty will wear off, but she was telling me last night how much better she could see with them on. I think really validated her to know that there really is something wrong and that it wasn't her imagination or "dry eyes" which is what her teacher said when she mentioned the blurriness.
So here we go: time to hock the jewelry and sell the good silver. It's going to be an expensive next several years....

8 comments:

Jodi said...

Well, that would be fine IF you had good silver to sell!

Actually, the "novelty" may wear off, but like with Adam, he could see so much better with them on that it was never a stuggle to get him to wear them.

This is only the beginning. The older she gets, the more she'll suck the ever livin' life out of you.

kate said...

Thanks sis, for the words of encouragement.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. I spend a considerable amount of time hoping desperately that my son has inherited my husband's teeth instead of mine. I had braces for four years - painful AND expensive - fun for the whole family! I hope your experience is better...

kate said...

Hi Maggie! Our poor kiddo was doomed no matter which parent's teeth she got. S-C-R-E-W-E-D.

As I told her dad yesteray, the good news is that once she gets braces? I bet she doesn't cry every morning about her socks being bunched up anymore. She's going to learn the real meaning of discomfort. Hey, I'm just looking for the silver lining! :)

Whosyergurl said...

Kate,
I was ten when I first started to wear glasses and I'll never forget how CLEAN the world looked.

and...my daughter had to wear braces, too. I had a PAYMENT BOOK and paid $50./mo for - I think about 2.5 years (or more?)...you'll get through it & she will have the most beautiful smile. Whenever someone compliments my daughter's beautiful smile today...(she is 26) I say "thank you, I helped buy that for her."

Anonymous said...

Ah the silver lining! You know you're reaching when that's the best you can do. Hey, I learned to swallow Advil when I was 12 so I could get adequate pain relief - silver lining? It's the best I can do.

Fancy Schmancy said...

Silver lining: expensive but correctable! My sister's teeth were so bad she had to have major oral surgery before the braces, and the braces stayed on for 6 years.

Dee said...

Gee, you're getting all kinds of shocking stories. Make you feel better? nuh uh. But, as you already know, you're not alone.

You're right, now Anna will know what real discomfort is when she gets her braces. You'll have to tell her to "suck it up". She CAN get thru it.

I'm glad the glasses will help her, and that her eyes won't get worse. Science, medicine----we love it.