October 27th

by Chris

That was the day...October 27th....the day of the appointment.

It seems like years ago now that LensCrafters threw up their arms and said they had no idea what was wrong with Abby's sight, and October 27th was the date her appointment with the ophthalmologist was scheduled.

That date came and went now...

In the intervening time between LensCrafters and that October 27th appointment, being impatient, fighting for answers, there were trips to ophthalmologists, geneticists, a neurologist, and so many phone calls, a meeting at Conant school with a dozen people, well, you get the point.

But the fact remains...

Abby in June of 2009 had 20/20 vision, and today... a year later, my daughter was measured to have 20/500 vision. She does have some peripheral vision which allows her to see a little, colored shapes so she is pretty good at not bumping into things, but she can be not 30 feet away within eye shot and she can say, "Daddy, talk to me so I know where you are..."

The other day, I handed her a quarter. She never looked at it, she carefully felt it with her fingers and said, "Thank you for my quarter, Daddy."

So with a sigh, I simply say...Abby is blind, and ask, okay, now what?

Well, next is a trip to yet another specialist, this time a neuro-ophthalmologist, more meetings with Conant school, maybe a few trips to a counselor, teaching her braille, etc, etc, etc...

The sprint for a diagnosis has become a marathon of adjustment...so everyday, with every decision, I ask two simple questions to help me stay the course. First, are we doing the right things for Abby? And second, does it help improve Abby's life?

Let the journey begin.