Ophthamology Update

I took William for his ROP follow-up appointment last week. Anyone who has ever taken their child for an ROP exam knows how stressful and horrible it is for not only the baby, but the parent who takes the baby. For those who don't know, I will spare you the details but know it is one of the worst things I have had to do with either of my babies. Much worse that IVs or catheters, in my opinion.

Anyway, other than the general nightmare of the exam itself, it was a pretty good appointment.

As I expected, Williams ROP (was stage 1) has resolved and will be a non-issue regarding his vision.

What I didn't expect was the words "I don't even know that I would call it Optic Nerve Hypoplasia" to come out of the doctor's mouth. Explanation: With William's type of brain injury (PVL), there is a specific phenotype of ONH that is usually observed. During the eye exam, this is seen as a large optic cup and/or small pale optic nerves (which indicates that the nerve is not made of healthy tissue).

After the doctor examined William, I asked about his ONH. The doctor explained that his nerves are pale but there is a ring of healthy pink tissue around them and a little in the middle. She said it is hard to tell if the cups are big or not and while his nerves are not exactly normal, she doesn't know if it is really ONH. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Meanwhile at home, it is apparent that William can see. To what degree we won't know for a while. But he is attempting to track objects and focus. I can tell that he will have a bit of strabimus with his left eye but that is no big deal to fix, usually. I am absolutely thrilled that he can see and that he has some healthy tissue!