Patches O'Houlihan

Thursday we went to the pediatric ophthalmologist at University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. It was not a great appointment. Noelle started off good, watching the fish and playing with the toys, then the wait started to get to her. She kept saying, "I want to go home" and "This is not fun".

They finally called her name and as I rounded up the children and started following the doctor Noelle says in a matter of fact voice, "This is terrible!". The doctor chuckled and then started the examination. Noelle had no problem doing the things she was asked and even stated after a little while, "This isn't so bad Mommy." Soon she was asked to state what she say on a projected screen at the other end of the room. A patch was covering her right eye and she had a lot of trouble seeing with her left.

The second doctor came in and it was concluded that the vision in her left eye has decreased. It is a problem that all of us Goodhue children have run into. One eye is always much weaker than the other. The fix - Noelle has to wear an eye patch over her right eye three hours every day. The good news is that surgery is still not needed at all, her eyes are straight as an arrow with her glasses.

They took a quick peak at Max and unfortunately saw a slight crossing of his eyes. Apparently, it was very slight and might not even need glasses to correct it, but it does need to be checked out with the thorough 4-5 hour exam. So, on December 18th (our wedding anniversary) I will be stuck in a small and crowded doctor's office for around 5 hours, with two children and my pregnant self...fun times! Hopefully Tom can take a few hours off to come and help. It isn't the end of the world if Max does need glasses, but I'm not thrilled about the fact at all. Damn that bad eye gene. It seems it is pretty strong...Thanks Mom!!

So, we tried the patch for the first time last evening. Oh, boy. It was NOT fun. Noelle hated it and kept saying, "The doctor told me I can take it off if I don't like it and I don't like it." Poor girl! It is very hard to convince her to keep it on, but we did last an hour. I am hoping for two hours tonight and just try to work up to three over the next few days. Note the very sad face Noelle is exhibiting below...poor girl!