Eyes

This is sort of a heavy post I guess. Life brings it's ups and downs, and I want to remember it all. So we can look back on things that seemed so big at the time, but in the grand scheme of things they are really very minor. Anyway, for the past several months or so, we have noticed some issues with Brantlee's eyes. At times, they don't seem to focus the same. The left eye in particular seems to drift away, especially when she is looking at things at a distance. We were referred to a terrific pediatric opthamologist in Hattiesburg. She was wonderful!! Brantlee could NOT have behaved and cooperated better. I was really concerned about an eye exam on a 1 1/2-year-old, but the Lord answered our prayer there.

However, Brantlee was diagnosed with a form of Strabismus (which is just a fancy word for a misalignment of the eyes.) Specifically, she has Exotropia (which just means her eye turns in an outward direction.) So far her eyes otherwise seem to be fine, which we are so grateful for!! Unfortunately this issue won't correct itself, and it will usually worsen if it isn't treated. The doc feels like the best treatment option for her case is surgery, not glasses or a patch like I hoped. But we aren't rushing into anything yet! She will be evaluated again in 6 months, and then we will go from there. We know she'll have to have it fixed at some point but probably not for another year.

The thought of eye surgery on your baby is a little (okay maybe a lot) terrifying. But the procedure seems very simple. It really just involves the eye muscles more than anything. I have such a peace about this because as a mother, I just knew something wasn't quite right... and now we have an answer - yet another answered prayer. Circumstances can ALWAYS be worse, and comparatively speaking this issue is nothing.

They had to dialate her eyes, so she got a cool new pair of shades from the doctor!

Again, she was so sweet throughout this whole ordeal even without a nap!