For many reasons, we've always suspected that Sophie Lu would need glasses, so our pediatrician referred us to a wonderful pediatric
opthamologist whom I took Sophie to on Monday. We spent nearly five hours at her office... Sophie had to have eye drops to dilate her eyes (that part was
traumatic), and then she courageously endured an endless series of tests. I was so proud of her, and she was SO sweet and polite (she said "Thank you" after each test). Even the doctor was impressed with her maturity and cooperation during the long appointment.
Unfortunately, the results of the tests (which she verified and
re-verified) were much worse than we had hoped for. The doctor explained to us that Sophie Lu has very very poor vision- actually, she is legally blind... Her vision is 20/200 in one eye and 20/400 in the other. She is
severely near-sighted and has
astigmatisms in both eyes also, but more troubling is that there is an unusually large difference between the prescription required for her eyes. The doctor explained that usually there should only be a 2.0 point maximum between the prescriptions, but that Sophie's is much much larger than that. She is hoping that corrective lenses will help Sophie's vision, but she is unsure because the brain may have already told at least one of her eyes to shut off or not try to see... She mentioned double vision, extreme
blurriness, and some other things- but I probably forgot them because I was so upset by this point. The doctor told us that the
optometrist wouldn't even believe the prescription. After the doctor told me how strong Sophie's prescription would be and how thick her lenses would be, I asked her if Sophie would get headaches from the glasses... She answered, "She's surely having headaches now... it's amazing that she even gets around as well as she does... she is tough." Of course I knew that- she IS tough... she is
so tough. It just breaks my heart to think of how she sees- or doesn't see the world around her right now... everything so blurry unless it's within a couple inches of her face- it's no wonder she holds everything so close to her eyes and doesn't much like to color or draw... I feel guilty for not taking her sooner- but I honestly thought 3 was early... and at the same time, I'm so glad that I
did take her this soon. I'm so so worried- worried the glasses won't help... worried her vision will continue to decline... just worried and so sad. Like any parent, I want the best for my baby girl and I want her to have the world- to see the world- and to experience everything life has to offer (and more). This has me very emotional, and it's on my mind constantly... and then I start to feel really guilty because there are moms and children who have it far far worse (and then I start to feel thankful too)... and I start thinking of the children that are totally blind and in complete darkness... I know I am rambling, but this is where my thoughts go as I try to come to terms with all of this. And perhaps it's also frustrating to me because it's beyond my control and there is nothing I can do to change it...
What I
can do is pray for Sophie's continued strength and resilience. And I can be thankful that things aren't worse (because I know they could be by far). And I can appreciate that even though my daughter can't see very well, she
does see the beauty in her world... she looks for the moon every night and notices the flowers wherever we go... and she sees things as we
all should see things- through her precious, innocent eyes- she sees the
good. May she always always see the
good...
I'll post photos of my beauty in her pink framed glasses the minute she gets them.
`
After waiting almost 3 weeks to get her glasses, a very excited Sophie Lu became a little apprehensive just before she received them...
But then they handed her a silky pink "glasses purse"...
Of course we think she looks just beautiful too!
The doctor administered an informal test to see what she could "see" (she did great)!
Sophie & Daddy in their glasses together!
Sophie amazes me- she is so resilient and strong and so very brave. We are SO proud of her! 
So here she is... our beautiful Sophie Lu in her glasses!!! I think the photos (especially the one of her smiling at herself in the mirror) speak for themselves... but here is the video of her first moments in her glasses & part of our car ride home!
Cousin Brittany & Big Sister Becca joined us for 2 weeks in Florida! They are wonderful girls, and we enjoyed every minute with them! Sophie & Ollie were particularly happy to have their special playmates around!
