as the most important page to me!
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& Myself... Johnny Received
Outstanding Citizenship Award from
his school district!!!! We were very
proud parents!!!
the nation's children have
Strabismus. Half of them are
born with the condition.
percent of the general population
suffers from Amblyopia
condition. The brain will
start to suppress or block
the weak eye and this
inhibition process can result
in a permanent decrease in
the vision in that eye that
can not be corrected with
glasses, lenses, or lasik
surgery. Much of the time
parents and children can be
completely unaware of this
condition, thus allowing the
condition to continue to
progress causing
irreversible damage to occur.
Strabismus is a disorder of
the eye involving a lack of
coordination between the
muscles of the eye.
Essentially, the eyes do not
point in the same direction.
This prevents bringing the
gaze of each to the same
point in space, preventing
proper binocular vision,
which in turn adversely
affects depth perception.
amblyopic eye may never
develop good vision and may
even become functionally blind.
in and you feel like a tiger protecting your
cub. I was so young when I gave birth to my
son Johnny. He was beautiful! Perfect hands,
defined muscles, his daddies eyes and my
little nose. I knew my life was going to
change but I never could have imagined in the
ways it would. At the age of 5 Johnny was
diagnosed with Amblyopia and Strabismus.
He had failed his school's eye test. I
remember this so clearly it was a week before
Christmas 1998 when my mother, my husband
and myself took him to see a pediatric
ophthalmologist. I thought it would be a
routine check maybe get glasses that he
would have wear for a few years but nothing
serious. OH WAS I WRONG!!!! The words
Amblyopia and Strabismus rolled off the
doctors tongue like he was speaking French.
Not until he said that his sight would slowly
diminish and that patching his strong eye
would be all that we could do at this point and
for Johnny to wear glasses. I felt like my gut
had gotten ripped out. There was no way that
was try and prove this doctor wrong. I researched day and night only to find the same
things over and over. I had found myself in a whirlwind of guilt and asking why. He
was such a perfect boy, why did this have to happen to him. After a few days of just
watching him sleep and crying at night I realized that my son needed me more then
anything in this world. I would have to fight for him when he needed it and hold him
when he couldn't see that new 3D movie in the theater like his friends could. To
Johnny 3D glasses mean red and blue colors thats it.
We patched his eye and it seemed to be just a quick fix. Having the pressure of what
his overall life will be like and wanting him to be a "Normal Boy" at times overwhelm
me. I have learned to let him experience all he can. He is adventurous, very daring
and loves to play the drums. His education has been a hurdle since he was diagnosed.
Teachers and school personal tried to tell me he had ADD but when he reached the 4th
grade he got a "TRUE TEACHER". Jane Barker is the most amazing person. Mrs.
Barker took the time to learn about what my son had and what she could do to help
him achieve all he could. She went above and beyond to accommodate my son in her
classroom. Johnny received 504 Accommodations due to Mrs. Barker's compassion
to make sure Johnny got every opportunity to learn all he can. My family will be
forever grateful for Mrs. Barker teaching my son for 2 years. Teaching a child who
gets frustrated because he can't see fine print to pass a test, who feels that reading
makes no sense has to be one of the hardest jobs in the world. But, Mrs. Barker
turned his life around.
At this point in Johnny's life his sight has gotten worse he can no longer read his
sheet music clearly. Johnny has gotten his first pair of bifocals, hopefully this will
help him in school. He has been playing the drums mainly by memory.
As a mother I feel the guilt everyday for not getting his sight checked earlier. I can see
3D but my son will never be able to. My depth perception is not in jeopardy his is very
limited and I have the joy of watching my child grow into a handsome young man and I
pray he will be able to watch his grow. I have prayed for him to wake up one morning
and see the world through a fresh new view. I have been told about surgery but how
can a parent make a decision like that? If he has surgery and speeds up the process or
if something goes wrong my son will blame me. Living with the fact that I was young
and naive about sight testing is no excuse! Every parent needs to get there child's eye
sight tested!! If it was up to me sight testing would be just like vaccinations!
I want this page to bring attention to our children's eye sight.... PARENTS - Please
don't take it for granted Get your child's sight tested!!!!!!!
For The Rest Of My Life