A Woman's Work – Brooke Basically Blogging

We can do this. That is exactly what I was thinking about when we entered the doctor’s office for Sydney’s appointment. Normally, we always go to the hospital for our appointments to see “specialists”. Not today. Today we are going to the eye doctor for the first time like “normal” people.

Sydney failed her eye exams at school. I knew that she needed to see a doctor but epilepsy and autism trumped an eye exam. Saturday morning Copher’s Community made history. Harrison decided to stay home with his list of “to do” things to accomplish before we returned. He and I spent Friday together so I think he needed a break!

I admit I thought I was crazy for scheduling her appointment on a Saturday when we walked inside. I gave myself a quick pep talk, called on Jesus and signed in. Sydney found a seat and played on our family iPad as I completed the paperwork. I’m so glad that I already gave them most of her information earlier on the phone. So I wouldn’t have much paperwork to complete in the office.

Sydney was doing great. We had about ten minutes to wait. While we were waiting. I explained to Sydney that we would see the doctor soon. She read the social story and we waited. Now I felt comfortable and relaxed.

Sydney was called to do the first part of the exam to test the pressure in her eyes. She did great. At that moment I got emotional. The tech was talking directly to Sydney. Not me. She was treating Sydney as a person. She gave her enough wait time to respond. She didn’t look at me to answer the questions for Sydney. This never happens to us.  To fight back tears I started taking pictures. This was history in the making. If this was five or six years ago. I would have had to hold Syd or she would have been restrained to get a test done like this.

Next we were going to the examination room to wait for Dr. Gardner. But the room wasn’t ready for us yet. We had to go back to the waiting room to wait a few moments. I thought that this would confuse Sydney. I said “Plot Twist”. Sydney started laughing and went back to have a seat.

Less than five minutes passed before Dr. Gardner called her name. She greeted Dr. Gardner with her high pitch voice and he smiled. It was in that moment I knew we would be just fine. Dr. Gardner and I talked for a few minutes and then he examined Sydney.

I was so proud of her. She was naming the letters and following his directions. Some tasks were challenging for her and you could tell she was trying to communicate. But she didn’t get frustrated. Dr. Gardner’s wait time and demeanor were perfect with Sydney.

Sydney even tried cheating on the eye exam. When the letters were too small for her to see. She just turned around and read them off of the wall. Dr. Gardner told her she was a smart girl and she sure is. The examination was going great. I knew she would need glasses. So when Dr. Gardner said that a prescription would help her focus better I felt relieved. He also mentioned vision therapy as an option for Sydney. The glasses will be the first step to strengthen her eyes.

Dr. Gardner asked if I wanted to have her eyes dilated. After a slight pause we both agreed that baby steps is the key. We can wait for next year’s appointment to do that. Now it was time to pick out the glasses. Sydney sat down and I had the tech pick out a few frames for Syd to try. Syd did a great job modeling the different glasses. When we narrowed it down to the top two pair of glasses. Sydney made the decision to pick the purple frames. Thank you Jesus! No balance and  insurance covered everything. Won’t HE do it!!!

We are so close to leaving. This might be interesting when we tell Syd that she can’t get the glasses today. When I told her we have to come back to get the glasses. She gave me “the look”. I had an extra pair of my glasses in my purse, in case I needed backup. Baby girl surprised me and said “ Okay Mom” and started walking toward the door.

I did it! We did it! I learned that if you don’t try you never know if you will be successful. This applies to all areas of our lives. Not only will Sydney’s vision improve.  My vision improved because I see things clearly now for our future.