Something resembling progress

Doctors doctors doctors. Sometimes, I just want to kick one.

We trek back to the eye doctor today for Abby. After a miserable performance on the eye chart (they show a "E", and Abby says, "One!" I know she knows her alphabet upside-down and backwards...she was just being anti today.), the doc starts his exam. It is a new guy this time. The med student we were a novelty for last time must have moved on. Anyway, more questions about Marfan's, hemocystinuria, you-must-have-some-horrible-crippling-deadly-disease-itis. Isn't that already in the chart? Can we get past this part, please? And really...we are going to this office for the PEDS SPECIALIST! Why are we always getting the med students? Can't we just go to any joe-schmoe-opthalmologist if we aren't really getting anything special?

So, the first time we went, I asked them to figure out a new prescription because she wasn't wearing her glasses. They asked to see the glasses. Why? They aren't right? They get that prescription, and tell me they aren't getting anything different. But, we need to patch because one eye is nearly blind. No change. Abby still won't wear them.

The second time, I asked them to fix her prescription because she won't wear the glasses. They do their exam and tell me she is seeing almost the same in both eyes. They then say that prescriptions don't change much because they measure the length of the eye. No prescription change. Abby still won't wear them.

Today, I bring in both of her glasses. I tell them the first pair, she got under anesthesia and she wore them just fine. They are scratched up, but she still will wear them if I make her. The second pair she got in St. Louis and she doesn't wear them. They obviously don't help her much. Please give her a new prescription. The med student does what he can, but calls in the Specialist finally to check his work. The Specialist does some looking and starts talking about a surgical lensectomy because her left eye is unreadable. He says the lens is angled such that it is distorting the light so much that it is not coming to a focal point. He doesn't think there's much they can do about it to correct that eye. Excuse me? I told him that my lenses were completely gone and they were able to correct my vision. How? He says. (Yes, the Peds Specialist actually asked ME "how", boy am I getting my money's worth) Glasses. Very thick glasses. (In the back of my mind adding "dumbass" to the comment) I start to ask them how much time do we have left to fix this because she's already four and pretty soon those brain connections will be solidified and at that point, we are really screwed. (I.E. come on, people. Gametime here. We don't have forever to just leave it be.)

So, he tries a couple of the biggy lenses they probably don't play with much. He finally says "I got it!" Like he is amazed at himself. I guess the light finally coalesced to a point in her eye. The problem seems to be her lenses are spherical instead of flat like most people so that was throwing things off, and she has astigmatism which I seem to recall my eye surgeon saying that all Dislocated Lens People have astigmatism because the lens falling away leaves a hole and that is basically what astigmatism means. But, at least he seems to think he can help. Well, finally!

So, we finally have a new prescription. That only took how much begging and pleading and arguing?

In case you want to know: Right eye: -2.50 Left eye: -15.00!!!! Can they even make those without them feeling completely unbalanced and lopsided?