Did you know that all kids are born near-sighted? I didn’t, but that’s what Namine’s optometrist told us. As kids get older, their eyesight usually improves. That explains why when she was younger, Namine needed glasses for reading. During the following year’s checkup, we found out that they had self-corrected, so she no longer needed them.
In the years between, Namine has not needed glasses. She does occasionally get headaches, but those have been attributed to other medical reasons (like her heart defect medication) or are simply unknown — but not her eyesight.
It’s important to keep tabs on a child’s eyesight as they grow, of course. But an added wrinkle in this whole business is the fact that Namine has Pierre Robin Sequence. It’s not a syndrome — a single condition — but rather a series, or sequence (thus the name), of conditions, one after another leading to a final result. Or results, in Namine’s case, as it caused her to be born with a regressed lower jaw, cleft palate, ankyloglossia (commonly known as being tongue-tied).
Other conditions that have been observed to be related to PRS include hearing and vision deterioration or loss. For that reason, the critical care team at Children’s Hospital has kept a close eye (if you’ll pardon the pun) on Namine’s vision and hearing.
Namine had a lens test to check her eyes. After getting the results back, the doctor told us that her eyesight has improved even more than last time. She most definitively does not need glasses.
Of course, Namine’s eyes were dilated for the eye exam. She was given a pair of sunglasses, which she particularly enjoyed.
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