As of today, Leigh is wearing special contact lenses for degenerative myopia. She has high-end sunglasses to wear with those contacts, too. With the MiSight contacts and her sunglasses, Leigh can see with 20\/20 vision.<\/p>\n
I cannot express what a relief it is that she can see well again.<\/p>\n
School isn\u2019t designed for differences. Being autistic is difficult enough. The back brace was an extra obstacle. Now, there\u2019s the real possibility she could be losing her eyesight.<\/p>\n
Children shouldn\u2019t have to be so strong.<\/strong>\u00a0Leigh and Anne went through so much before arriving in our home. They spent too many years as foster children, though thankfully with us. And now there are these extra challenges. It upsets me, even though it\u2019s all beyond our control.<\/p>\n The vision adventure began the evening of September 12, when I noticed that she was struggling to read the projection screen during robotics team orientation. When Leigh was taking notes, her nose was almost touching the pages of her notebook. I asked her to read some of the posters around the room. She could only read words that were more than a foot tall.<\/p>\n Panicked, I called the optometrist the next morning and set up an appointment for September 13. Though she continued to say her vision was fine, the machine readings and traditional tests proved otherwise. The optometrist was concerned enough with the first readings obtained by a technician that she repeated the machine and eye chart exams.<\/p>\n Leigh\u2019s vision has declined dramatically in six months.<\/strong> Susan has recorded Leigh\u2019s vision exams in a table. We log everything, something we did with medical information before we became parents.<\/p>\n The OS (oculus sinister) data are for the left eye and the OD (oculus dextrus) are for the right eye. The \u201csphere\u201d value indicates myopia (near-sighted) or hyperopia (far-sighted). The further from \u201c0\u201d the more severe the distance issue. Negative values are myopia and positive values are hyperopia.<\/p>\n Cylinder and axis readings indicate how round an eye is, with round being the ideal shape. When an eye isn\u2019t round, you have astigmatism. The axis is the \u201cangle\u201d needed for glasses to correct the astigmatism. As an eye changes, so can the angle of correction.<\/p>\n What you\u2019ll notice is Leigh\u2019s myopia jumped significantly in a year, from 2021 to 2022. Then, the myopia kept increasing this year. The astigmatism also increased, and the angle of correction changed every eye exam this year.<\/p>\n Obviously, what\u2019s happening with Leigh\u2019s vision is serious.<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s a myopia scale, as well as data on the risks associated with myopia. These are not reassuring numbers when your child has quickly progressing myopia.\u00a0The unfiltered truth, which the doctors explained to Leigh, is that once myopia reaches -6.00 on the scale, everything becomes more difficult. Legally, you\u2019re blind without glasses or contacts. The risks of so many other complications skyrocket. Retinal detachment or macular degeneration are likely to occur.<\/p>\n Leigh is on the trajectory for a -6.00 reading before she\u2019s 16 years old.<\/strong>\u00a0She would be legally blind in many states. It\u2019s impossible not to be constantly worrying about something more serious.<\/p>\n The optometrist referred us to a childhood myopia specialist. That appointment was on September 23. To my shock, Leigh\u2019s vision tested even worse! In ten days, the change was significant enough to require a new prescription for eyeglasses.<\/p>\n A lengthy exam commenced, as the specialist eliminated ocular cancer, macular degeneration, and a long list of other potential causes for myopia. Thankfully, none of the worst possibilities were diagnosed. Not that degenerative myopia is a good thing, but I sure wasn\u2019t ready for a cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n The specialist discussed the various options for treating progressive myopia in children.<\/p>\n None of the myopia treatments are covered by insurance.<\/strong>\u00a0The health savings account (HSA) we have also caps what can be paid for myopia interventions.<\/p>\n We are fortunate to be able to obtain the care Leigh needs. Other families can\u2019t cover $1500 to $2000 or more for myopia treatment.<\/p>\n Leigh keeps her focus and her goals.\u00a0<\/strong>That\u2019s not my dad-pun, either. That\u2019s her pun.<\/p>\n She wants to attend Texas A&M to become a veterinarian. She wants to learn how to play the synthesizer, drums, and guitar at the School of Rock. She wants to be on a winning robotics team. She also plans to be an artist and writer. She has a long list of goals.<\/p>\n Nothing is going to stop her from reaching her goals, Leigh says.<\/p>\n What makes me incredibly proud of her is that her teachers notice her confidence. They say she has determination, persistence, and grit. She doesn\u2019t give up.\u00a0I take no credit for how amazing she is. Leigh deserves all the credit for whatever she achieves.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As of today, Leigh is wearing special contact lenses for degenerative myopia. She has high-end sunglasses to wear with those contacts, too. With the MiSight contacts and her sunglasses, Leigh can see with 20\/20 vision. I cannot express what a relief it is that she can see well again. School…<\/p>\n\n
\n Date<\/th>\n OD Sphere<\/th>\n OS Sphere<\/th>\n OD Cylinder<\/th>\n OS Cylinder<\/th>\n OD Axis<\/th>\n OS Axis<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n 18-Nov-2019<\/td>\n -0.50<\/td>\n -0.75<\/td>\n -0.50<\/td>\n DS<\/td>\n 063<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 9-Jan-2021<\/td>\n -1.75<\/td>\n -2.00<\/td>\n -0.50<\/td>\n DS<\/td>\n 038<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 10-Jan-2022<\/td>\n -3.25<\/td>\n -3.50<\/td>\n -0.50<\/td>\n -0.50<\/td>\n 015<\/td>\n 180<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 14-Sep-2022<\/td>\n -3.50<\/td>\n -4.50<\/td>\n -0.50<\/td>\n -1.00<\/td>\n 030<\/td>\n 175<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 23-Sep-2022<\/td>\n -4.00<\/td>\n -4.50<\/td>\n -0.50<\/td>\n -1.00<\/td>\n 180<\/td>\n 175<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3-Oct-2022<\/td>\n -4.25<\/td>\n -4.50<\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n
\n Myopia Range<\/th>\n Cataracts<\/th>\n Glaucoma<\/th>\n Detached Retina<\/th>\n Macular Degeneration<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n -1.00 to -2.99<\/th>\n 2x<\/td>\n 4x<\/td>\n 3x<\/td>\n 2x<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n -3.00 to -5.99<\/th>\n 3x<\/td>\n 4x<\/td>\n 9x<\/td>\n 10x<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n -6.00 and Worse
\nLegally Blind<\/th>\n5x<\/td>\n 14x<\/td>\n 22x<\/td>\n 41x<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n