Taylor had an appointment scheduled with the Opthamologist for the end of January to check the progress of his double vision, but he wanted to go sooner to see if he could be fitted for glasses. He starts back to Polk Community College in a few weeks, and thinks he'll have trouble seeing in the classroom.
Double vision continues to be a problem, and he has begun to compensate for it by turning his head to the right about 30 degrees to help focus when he's watching television, or trying to really focus on something.
Yesterday he saw the Opthomologist who said that there had not been a lot of progress since his last visit, but there had been some improvement. He checks his vision by using prisms to refocus the image, and records which prism gives the best results, then compares that to the last visit.
There is also some nystagmus still present. This causes the eyes to shake from left to right. When he was in the hospital and during the early weeks of rehab, it was real noticeable. But, it has gotten so much better, it now can only be identified during testing. That too should continue to improve over time.
He wrote a prescription for glasses, and we got those ordered yesterday. We're headed to Ohio on 12/27 through 1/2, so he'll pick them up on 1/4.
I was goofing with Taylor on the way there and said the glasses may make his eyes look like a cartoon character. I told him I was kidding, but he asked the girl handling the glass order if they would make his eyes look really big, so I guess he didn't trust that I was kidding. She said part of the glass will be a little thicker than the other, but they wouldn't make his eyes look huge.
We've had several people tell us that his walking/balance issues were affected by the double vision, and as that got better, so would the balance. But, when I asked the Ophthamologist about that, he said he knew of no connection between the two.
There are some days when Taylor's walking looks so normal that you'd wonder why he had the cane. And, there are others where he doesn't do nearly as well.
He's only 9 months into the recovery and the Neurosurgeon told us from the beginning that it takes an estimated 2 years for the brain to heal from the kind of injury Taylor had, so he still has a long way to go.
But, wobbly or not, he can walk on his own so having to use the cane for a while longer is no big deal.
Double vision continues to be a problem, and he has begun to compensate for it by turning his head to the right about 30 degrees to help focus when he's watching television, or trying to really focus on something.
Yesterday he saw the Opthomologist who said that there had not been a lot of progress since his last visit, but there had been some improvement. He checks his vision by using prisms to refocus the image, and records which prism gives the best results, then compares that to the last visit.
There is also some nystagmus still present. This causes the eyes to shake from left to right. When he was in the hospital and during the early weeks of rehab, it was real noticeable. But, it has gotten so much better, it now can only be identified during testing. That too should continue to improve over time.
He wrote a prescription for glasses, and we got those ordered yesterday. We're headed to Ohio on 12/27 through 1/2, so he'll pick them up on 1/4.
I was goofing with Taylor on the way there and said the glasses may make his eyes look like a cartoon character. I told him I was kidding, but he asked the girl handling the glass order if they would make his eyes look really big, so I guess he didn't trust that I was kidding. She said part of the glass will be a little thicker than the other, but they wouldn't make his eyes look huge.
We've had several people tell us that his walking/balance issues were affected by the double vision, and as that got better, so would the balance. But, when I asked the Ophthamologist about that, he said he knew of no connection between the two.
There are some days when Taylor's walking looks so normal that you'd wonder why he had the cane. And, there are others where he doesn't do nearly as well.
He's only 9 months into the recovery and the Neurosurgeon told us from the beginning that it takes an estimated 2 years for the brain to heal from the kind of injury Taylor had, so he still has a long way to go.
But, wobbly or not, he can walk on his own so having to use the cane for a while longer is no big deal.
1 comment:
Double Vision or not, I'm sure having Taylor with you is the best Christmas present you could ask for this year. Hope you all have a great holiday and next year brings even more amazing recovery for Taylor.
Miss your faces and love you all, Jenna
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