Surprise!

On a whim, I decided to take the kids into the Optometrists office to schedule an eye exam for DD2. It's been a while since she's had new glasses, so she was definitely due. I scheduled an appointment for Cub at the same time as he has never had this done. I was surprised to say the least.

DD2 - well, I was expecting them to change her prescription and send us on our merry way. They also are referring her to a surgeon to shorten one of the muscles on her eye. She had this surgery six years ago so I wasn't all that surprised that it needed to be done again. I've left it up to her to chose if she wants to go through it or not.

Cub - he got his very first prescription for glasses. I had no idea how poor his vision was. The optometrist said, " I'm surprised he not walking into walls and stuff". Except he does that. Makes sense to me now that when we'd be driving and I would point at a horse or cow in the field along the road, he's be looking everywhere but where the animal was. Poor guy couldn't see past the car window.
At the playgroup we used to attend, he would play with cars, but not the same way other kids would. He would lie down on the floor, and drive the car back forth, inches from his nose. It was because he wanted to see the car.

His glasses make him look oh so cute, but I'm glad he was born in this era. If he was a 70's child, he would have ended up with 'coke bottle' glasses. (Picture the guy on the Trailer Park Boys- Bubba, I think). His teacher has already noticed a marked improvement on his ability to focus on tasks.

Interestingly enough, the first few days with his glasses was like discovering things with him all over again. "Mommy! Look at that! Look at this!" I would hear that over and over. He was seeing some things for the first time, I'm sure. What an experience to have with a child who is old enough to articulate. "Look at the red leaves on the trees, Mom! Are they on fire?" or "See how tall that building is Mom?"

Thankfully, DD2's glasses are covered by her fathers insurance coverage. For Cub, we had to pay upfront for his, and should be reimbursed from Hubbys insurance but I'm not sure at what percentage. I hope it's 100% but we will have to see. We paid nearly $300 for his glasses.Thank god we started building some savings and have been paying off our debt so that we are able to handle things like this. Four years ago, if we had been handed a surprise $300 bill for something, it would have thrown us off kilter. Now, not so much.

The optometrist has also referred us to a pediatric specialist for Cub, because she really wasn't able to do a complete exam on him. He is only 4 and has the attention span of a gnat. She also said that he will likely have to have surgery on one of his eyes to shorten the muscles so it doesn't turn in.

Now I'm afraid to schedule appointments for Hubby and me. I don't think I can take any more surprises.