We've chosen a surgeon

Well, as of this morning, we have an appointment to meet with a pediatric ophthamologist/surgeon about Alex's cataracts.  We have chosen to go to Children's Hospital of Boston as they are well knows for treating pediatric cataracts and are actually doing research on them there.  Surgery is not a definite yet - but Alex's pediatric ophthamologist wanted a surgical opinion sooner rather than later.  Surgery could be within a few months - or a year or more down the road.  We just don't know yet.

Our appointment is the week of Halloween - which seems so very far away but I know will be here soon.  It is amazing to me how I can get frustrated when I cannot make doctor appointments quickly for me - but I am 100 times more antsy and anxious about it when it is for Alex.  I guess just like any mom, I just want the best for him - and I want it right now :)

In the meantime, we will be patching Alex's right eye (his left cataract is significantly worse) for an hour a day.  In kids with cataracts (especially when only one eye is involved or one eye is worse than the other), amblyopia can very easily develop.  In amblyopia, the brain blocks out the signals from the "weak" eye because it is focusing on the stronger vision in the "strong" eye.  This can lead to poor depth perception and reduced vision down the road.  Patching the stronger eye helps the brain rely more on the weaker eye, therefore retaining better vision.  We will certainly be patching a lot following surgery (if and when it is recommended) but Alex's doctor wanted to start some now.

The upside of patching is that Alex and I will get a lot of practice making pirate noises!  We practiced this last week when we patched a bit - and he thought my "Arrrrrr!" noises were very funny.

And, to finish up this post with a random tidbit... Alex said "banana" for the first time today!  When I asked him if he wanted a banana for breakfast, he smiled and said "nana".  His language is growing by leaps and bounds and I love seeing what new thing he learns every day.