Enigma

Enigma: 

a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation

Yep, that describes Julia.

So we saw the eye doc today.  Good ole' Dr. H.  He's been with us since the beginning and I really do trust him.  I showed him the prescription the "second opinion" doctor got and he was surprised that it was so low.  It has only been 6 weeks since her prescription has been checked.  I also got to ask a lot of questions:

When can she get an IOL? 

"Usually 20 months or older - unless she is having contact issues."

Can she swim in her contact? 

"She can, but it risks some pretty nasty infections, so I would take it out."

What about the eye cross? 

"Unfortunately that happens in 90% of these cases.  I keep note of it in her chart and eventually she'll need surgery to fix it."

How much do you think she can see? 

"Not sure.  Anywhere from 20/60 to 20/400 in her right eye."

So then he checked her prescription, and sure enough, the other doc had it right.  In 6 weeks her prescription has changed 10 diopters!  That is drastic and shocking.  And her left eye, the non-phpv eye, is getting a 4.5 prescription as well.  So she is farsighted in that eye. 

So now what.  Well, the drastic change is concerning.  It could be that she had an amazing growth spurt and her eye really, really grew.  OR, it can be a sign of glaucoma.  Because high pressures can cause the eye to swell, the eye would measure bigger and need a lower prescription.  We couldn't get good pressure readings in the office so now she is being scheduled for an EUA (exam under anesthesia).  Basically they are going to take a really, really good look at her eye, measure everything and see if anything is wrong.  And the ENT is going to bop in during the EUA and put tubes in her ears while she is already knocked out.  I'm not thrilled about my baby being under anesthesia for the third time, but I knew this would be needed at some point.

The doc said he was shocked at the change and that Julia isn't following any normal patterns.  She is a trailblazer - yes she is!  Normally the patched eye will become nearsighted from being patched, hers is now farsighted.  We are holding off on glasses for that eye to see if it starts to normalize on its own.  Apparently it is quite common for infants to be nearsighted or farsighted and it will change as they grow.  If hers doesn't start to correct itself, we will have to get new glasses.

We got another new contact (he had some spares in the office) and we are going to continue patching and wait for the office to call with her EUA schedule. 

So keep us in your prayers.  I am hoping and praying she doesn't have glaucoma.  The thought is too scary to entertain for more than a moment.  Glaucoma has a risk of losing vision because of  damage to the optic nerve.  We aren't sure of the next step until we know what is going on with her eye.