Diagnosis: Amblyopia
A couple months prior to Chipper’s third birthday we noticed that he would occasionally turn his left eye inward. At first, we thought he was just being silly. This prompted us to look back through his pictures and we were shocked to find several pictures of his left eye glowing white. I was concerned about his eyes and turned to Google to do some research on my own – this is when I came across Know The Glow. KTG gave me the tools I needed to call the ophthalmologist and describe my concerns about Chipper’s glow. He was urgently seen by a pediatric ophthalmologist and diagnosed with Amblyopia (lazy eye) in the left eye, Esotropia (eyes turning inward) at distance, Anisomotropia (eyes having unequal refractive power), Hyperopia (farsightedness), and Astigmatism (defect in curvature of the cornea causing refractive error). Chipper’s vision in his left eye was 20/200. It was explained to us that his left eye never learned how to see. He was prescribed glasses and we started patching his right eye in order to strengthen his left eye.
Chipper’s world has tremendously opened up since his diagnosis and treatment! He loves his glasses so much that he refuses to even take them off! We usually slip them off his face after he is asleep. We also draw and color his patches for fun! He is always telling people who ask him about his eye patch, “Don’t worry, I have a laser eye!”
Chipper has responded well to treatment and his vision continues to improve. His pediatric ophthalmologist closely follows him every couple months. We are thankful that we noticed his glow and got him help when we did. Before his diagnosis, Chipper would never sit down to read a book. He would turn the pages of books as fast as he could, making it impossible to actually read the book. We now know that he did this because he couldn’t clearly see the pictures on the pages. Reading books is one of his very favorite things to do now. He also loves playing with Legos – something he didn’t do before he had glasses.
Had his eye been left untreated, he would have gone blind in his left eye. Thank you, Know the Glow, for helping us detect Chipper’s glow!
