One Year!

I'm late in publishing this...It should be titled "One Year....and a few months" :)

It's June! And this marks the one year anniversary of our cataract/imom journey.  Drum roll, please!
Let's recap the past year.... (mostly for my purpose so I can see how far we've come):

June 2012- Well child visit we hear the word leukocoria- What?!?
What I learned: Be VERY careful about doing internet searches

June 2012- Our first of many appointments with a pediatric ophthamologist- glasses, patch for 4 hours and follow up in 2 months
 What I learned: How to spell the darn word (most of the time); using the                                   abbreviation PO is so much cooler easier (it took me months to know what PO was) I said "glasses belong on your face at least a million gazillion times in the the first week.

July 2012- "glasses belong on your face' continues for another million times (see things are improving) the patch war begins.  The fabric patch for the glasses stink for Mallory.  She cheats every single time.  I cry. She cries. I cry some more.  We replace a lens in her 'less than month' old glasses.
What I learned: the art of bribery when it comes to patching :) Hear the angels sing? Yeah, I did too.

August 2012- Follow up with the PO.  Darn cataract just keeps growing.  Her vision is worse despite the patching and glasses and surgery is scheduled for September 22.
What I learned:  The fine art of waiting patiently (ummm, not so much).  Ortopad is a fantastic alternative to the fabric patch...woo hoo.

September 2012- SURGERY!!!  The day came and went without a hitch.  Her cataract was removed and IOL implant was placed.  She can see!!!
What I learned:  The surgery is far worse for me than her.  She was treated like a rock star.        Drops... holy cow... I had no idea what kind of schedule this would need.  I had a calendar devoted just this for about a month.  The WONDERFUL world of IMOMS!!!  Who knew that I would be lucky enough to meet an actual, live imom in the waiting room... That's how awesome our PO is... She introduced us.

October 2012- More follow up appointments.  No glasses or patching for now.  Her eyesight was great considering everything!
What I learned:  It's extremely difficult to keep a 4 year old from jumping around, what office locations I like best and the the cost of this 'eye thing' (and we never had the cost of contacts).

November/December 2012-  Let's begin patching again...4 hours a day. Her glasses are wonderful.  She can't see without them if she's patched.  We ordered her glasses with a bifocal (progressive with the PO's blessing). Her eye sight is solid 20/30!
What I learned: Consistency pays off.  There's still a lot to keep up with this 'eye thing.'

January 2013- Mallory 'lost' her first pair of glasses.  I remember seeing them on her face on Sunday and then it was Tuesday and we can't find them.  We had a rough morning on Monday so there were no glasses or patch.  What she has since told us is she broke them and threw them away so she wouldn't get in trouble.  It's either that or they're in the 20 totes of Christmas Junk. I'll let you know in December.
What I learned: You can't trust a 4 year old and this 'eye thing' gets expensive.

February 2013- Our beloved PO is leaving and moving to Florida.  Mallory's eye is 20/25 and she is seeing equal out of both. Yay!!!  Patching is decreased to 2 hours a day!
What I learned:  Cutting patching time in half was like a vacation.  Saying good-bye to your PO is extremely difficult...she gave my child the gift of sight!

March/April 2013- Everything is status quo.  Keep patching, patching, patching.
What I learned:  This just becomes part of your life- the battles and the triumphs.  It's a journey and our ikids are iwarriors!

May 2013- Follow up with a new PO.  Her eye is exceptional, better than he can be predicted.  Patch for 3 hours instead of two.  Follow up at the year anniversary of her surgery with a new PO.
What I learned: support from fellow iMoms gets through the rough spots. Patching works. Nagging does too.  Bribes too! Eye sight is gift and sometimes we have to really earn that gift!