Great Report!

Today was a big day in our family. Jace went to see Dr. Malcolm Mazow at the Houston Eye Associates, who is an opthamologist that specializes in Jace's eye condition. For those of you who don't know, here's a little history of our "situation":

Jace started wearing glasses in August 2006, one month shy of his 2nd birthday. We were trying to correct a wandering eye, which in the medical field is called strabismus and amblyopia. We are fortunate enough to have one of only three pediatric opthamologists in New Mexico right here in Roswell. We really like our doctor and fully trust his decisions and judgements regarding our son. After all, he went to school in the Houston Medical Center, so he has to be good, right?? :) So, last year we had corrective surgery to straighten that eye out after two and a half years of wearing glasses and not getting the results that we wanted. The surgery was a success and for the past year we have been trying to increase the quality of vision in his weak eye. We have dilated every day in the summer and started using the patch more diligently once he started school. Our check-up appointment in December was a huge turning point, because the doctor pretty much said that he wasn't getting any better and if he doesn't improve he will be legally blind in that eye. Not what a parent wants to hear!!!! Josh and I were not willing to accept that diagnosis!! From the bottom of our hearts we believed that Jace could see fine. The doctor had us patching his eye every day for several hours a day until our February appointment. Then in February, Jace was seeing 20/200 in his left eye. He wanted us to see a specialist in Albuquerque just to make sure that he wasn't missing anything important. At that time he did confirm that there was no disease behind the eye, which was a big praise. So, I mention that we would be in Houston for Spring Break to see if there was any doctor there that would be better to see than anyone in Albuquerque. He got a bit giddy at that point and said that DEFINITELY if we were in Houston then we needed to see Dr. Mazow. He is a leading pediatric opthamologist in the nation that specializes in Jace's condition. Our doctor was actually a fellow under Dr. Mazow when he did his training. We felt like we were actually making a bit of progress now! Finally, we would get answers.

That brings us to today. Josh and I have been praying for this day for awhile now, just that God would bring us to some answers regarding Jace and his vision. We walked into Dr. Mazow's office and I immediately had a sense of peace. My mom asked if I was nervous and I answered truthfully, no. I was completely at peace. The office was obviously geared toward children! The nurses and staff were so friendly and made us feel so welcome and comfortable. The nurse, Monci, did a series of "games" with Jace as she was testing his vision. Jace was a true champ the whole time and did great. Then Dr. Mazow came in. He was quite the fellow! He told Jace that if he didn't get the letters right on the chart then he would make him go out and kiss all the little girls in the waiting room!! Of course, he was just picking at Jace, but it motivated Jace to read! :) He then did more series of "games" to test Jace, and he did so great. I don't completely understand how the eye works, but he and the nurse both tested Jace to see 20/60 out of his weak eye from a distance!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!! He is also testing 20/30 up close!!! WOW is all I have to say. So, we went from 20/200 to 20/60 in a month and a half. I think the patch is working!!! God is also doing some miracles!!! Dr. Mazow REALLY encouraged the patch and that we do it more like 8 hours a day instead of 3-4. What the patching does is it forces the weak eye to focus and perform like the strong eye. I see it like this, in my peon form of medical understanding: the eye is like a muscle. If you don't use a muscle, then you get muscle atrophy, and basically lose the ability to use that certain muscle. The same is with the eye: if the eye is not used because it is weaker, the brain turns off the signals to the weak eye and forces the good eye to overcompensate for the weak eye. With the patch, it is forcing the weak eye to exercise and work hard to get back to the level that the good eye is at. How's that for a peon description?? :)

So, what this means, is that we have to be really diligent at using the patch. Like ALL DAY. This might mean that he has to wear it to school, which is fine, but maybe we can start by wearing it all day at home and see how much we can do there first. He also encouraged the purchase of a hand-held gaming device, using Lego's, coloring, working on a LiteBrite, or reading. He said to switch it up every day. Don't do the same thing everyday so it keeps the eye from becoming complacent. Jace will have a follow-up with him when we come to Houston in the summer.

That's it!! I really liked Dr. Mazow (despite the fact that he is a Longhorn...but he did say that he was rooting for the Bears in the NCAA tournament, so that made it all better!!!). I feel like the Lord led us right to his doorstep and I feel so much better knowing that we are doing what we need to be doing for our son. I would move heaven and earth if that's what it took for Jace to be able to see perfectly. Looks like we are on our way. Even though Jace probably will have to wear glasses for the rest of his life, there is still room for improvement and we will do whatever it takes to get him to the point where he has improved the most that he can.

So, we topped the day off by eating a treat at Sugarbaby's and going to Academy to buy BASEBALL GEAR!!!!!!!! WOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!!! (That will be for another post later!!!)

We are so grateful to our doctors and to the Lord for putting us in the path where we need to go. We feel like we have had the best possible care and now we are on the road to getting him better. I actually feel like we can beat this thing. Or at least make it better, Lord willing. God has a perfect plan for Jace's life. None of this surprised Him. When Jace was being fearfully and wonderfully made in my womb He KNEW that this was the road we would face. He wouldn't have put it in our path if He knew that we couldn't handle it and beat it. It's just forced us to lean a little more on Him and less on ourselves, which is what He wants for us all, right? I can't wait to see what He has in store for our precious little boy!!