First Visit to the Eye Dr.

Well Erin had her fist visit to the eye doctor this afternoon. Back in May, her pediatrician did a screening and the nurse reported that Erin was clearly guessing on part of the screening. Seeing that Tom and I both have horrid vision, her Ped. suggested we take her to an eye doctor for a professional screening.

So I returned home and called our eye doctors (whom Tom and I both adore). I was informed that they don't see anyone under 6, but there was a Pediatric Optician in town. I called and made an appointment. The day before the appointment they called our Pediatrician to get Erin's medical records I assume. We discovered this day that they would NOT take our insurance, and it was going to cost much more than I had anticipated to get her eyes screened. The nurse at our Dr.s office went to bat and got it cleared for us to see the Pediatric Optician, but we were still informed that our insurance would only cover the appointment if they found a medical problem with Erin. I was afraid to take that risk so never made another appointment.

Fast forward to the end of the summer. I have my annual eye appointment and bring Erin along. She sits quietly and looks at a book while I'm there. I know that the Dr. has a child Erin's age so I ask her what she'd recommend and she suggested bringing Erin into her. This was just what I had hoped and the reason Erin came along to my appointment rather than getting to stay at home and watch a movie with Jeffrey.

So today we had our appointment. I explained to Erin where we would be going and that she would be able to sit in the cool big chair like mommy did. She was so good with the Dr. They were even able to get the puff test done on her. She sat in the chair like a champ and read off numbers and shapes just fine. The Dr. even did the "is it better on 1 or 2" test - personally I hate that test as 1/2 the time I don't see a difference. I sat there hoping that Erin wasn't just guessing. When she finished the Dr. said her eyes are fine and that every answer that Erin gave made perfect sense...it was clear she wasn't guessing at all.

I'm glad we went in and also very glad that Erin's eyes are fine right now. I expect that by middle school she'll be in glasses like mommy and daddy but for now no glasses for her. We finished off the afternoon with a special trip to Maggie Moos (like Coldstone Creamery) where Erin picked pink strawberry ice cream with rainbow sprinkles mixed in. And for now we are done with the Erin and the vision screening saga that has been going on here at the house all summer.