Astigmatism

Andy's going to need glasses. Not too much of a surprise really considering Bjorn's got a pretty serious prescription. On his four year check up, they pediatric nurse tested his eyes with their basic tests that I believe are left over from 1960 as it's the same stuff I remember using at Bradfield Elementary school in 1978 and it was old looking equipment then. She warned that he seemed to be having a little trouble with distance vision, but that at age four, a lot of kids have trouble with the instructions. At his five year check up, they noticed he was still having a little trouble with distance vision and that I probably should get him to an optometrist before kindergarten.

So a few weeks ago, I took him to an optometrist in Burke that our pediatrician recommended. Apparently a lot of optometrists (like our regular one) don't see little kids so I needed to find one who was willing to take the time. Dr. Katz was great. Nice, funny and comforting. The whole exam took about an hour and a half, which was surprising to me. Considering the length, I was so glad I left the Meg-er-rator with Miss Ayesha. Andy was pretty nervous about it, but he did pretty well. After doing a bunch of different distance vision and depth perception tests, he came back with a pretty good astigmatism in both eyes (I had to call my sister Mary to learn it's not "a stigmatism" and figure out what that meant). Andy was getting tired so Dr. Katz asked us to come back in a couple of weeks so he could dialate his eyes and make sure he wasn't missing something.

We went back yesterday for the dialating. Dr. Katz first tested that the measurements and vision tests from a couple weeks ago held up and then he put the drops in Andy's eyes. Andy did not appreciate that part since they stung a little. The good news is that the inside of his eyes are perfect, it's just that his eyes aren't completely round so he'll need glasses at some point to correct his 20-50 vision. What I liked was the doctor wasn't in a hurry to put him into glasses. He said for what Andy's doing, he can see fine. He suggested we tell his kindergarten teacher that he needs to sit closer to the front of the class and then bring him back in a year. So he'll definitely need glasses at some point, but I appreciate that the doctor's not in a rush. That said, he recommended monitoring the situation and if it seems he's having trouble that might be related, to bring him back in and we'll get the glasses sooner.