September 2010 Eye Exam

The first eye exam of 2010! We were way overdue for an appointment!


But we were glad to find out that Joey's vision has not changed since his last appointment. Ideally, we'd love to see that it has gotten better, but we're just glad that it has not gotten worse. The eye looks dry and healthy inside, which is great. When Dr. T started the eye exam, he turned on the wall screen, and with his back to the wall, asked Joey what letter was on the screen. Joey looked and looked, and looked some more, and then finally he said, "Is that even a letter??? It looks like a CAKE!" And it WAS a cake!! Dr. T thought he'd put the letter chart up, but had, instead set up the picture eye chart! (see children's chart on the left!)

Dr. also told us that the cataract is growing. He said it was getting harder for him to look into the eye, which leads me to believe that it must also be hindering Joey's vision as well. Dr. T told us that it wasn't "urgent", so maybe during next summer vacation, we can plan on that procedure. (Wouldn't it be awesome if God healed that cataract! We will pray and see what happens! )

Surprisingly, Joey didn't seem too concerned about it. He said he was glad that he might be able to see a little better. He's an old pro at surgeries...one Exam under Anesthesia, 2 laser eye surgeries, and one appendectomy! Should I mention that he also decided to come a month early in an emergency C-section? Yes, this boy has filled our lives with a lot of drama from day one. :)

Here's a pic of Joey before his exam:

And here is is after his eyes were dilated...can you see his big pupils?

2009 Coat's Disease Update

Haven't updated in a while because things have been uneventful. Which is a good thing. Joey had his last eye exam a couple of weeks ago and his Coats' eye remains stable. We'd like his eyesight to improve, but if it doesn't improve, staying the same is the next best thing.

The Dr's office had some "patching charts" available on which Joey can stick his patch each day and eventually the chart starts to look like a cool design. I bought three at $3/each. Really, they should have just handed them out, since they have pharmaceutical ads on them - seemed more like a promotional freebie-type item to me. But what the heck, I bought some. Here are some photos of the charts:











I know I've mentioned before that he really hates getting the eye drops that dilate his pupils. Oh, how he hates that!! It used to be that his eyes stayed dilated for a couple of days, but now it seems they're back to normal by the time he wakes up next morning. On the way home, he always wants to wear those disposable sunglasses that they office gives out to their patients. He prefers those, even though we've bought him a million "cool" sunglasses!

As for the results of his exam, his retina looks dry (which is good because it means no leakage), his vision remains the same, and the cataract has not grown. These are all good things. Glad its summer because patching will be easier (well, if not easier, at least we'll have more time to do it!).

When he was younger, he didn't care if others saw him while he patched. He'd play with other kids, we'd run errands, etc. Now he cares. Not too long ago I suggested he patch and go play with the neighbor kids (you know, multi-task!). He looked at me and said, "...in front of my FRIENDS?" I guess not.

Well, that's it for now - as I said, it's pretty status quo on the Coats Disease front. Just wanted to keep in touch with everyone who might be keeping up on us either because you know us, or because you are on a similar journey.

Til next time!