Another Update on Paige's Amblyopia

For the past 4 months since Paige's last eye check up we have been extremely dilligent in our patching efforts and even bought Paige a couple of designer felt patches that cover her glasses so she doesn't have to wear the stickers. Paige much preferred the felt patches and with that was definitely more compliant with her patching time. We also invested in prescription goggles for swim team since she is in the pool approx. 4 days per week with Fall Swim Team. Last week we went to see Dr. Steele to see if our efforts paid off.
It was definitely the longest we have had to wait in her office to be seen, but once the doctor came in Paige was anxious to do the charts to see if she had improved. Remember, we started with a visual acuity of 20/80 and at her last appointment she was 20/30. This time Paige was 20/25, and inconsistent at that. Dr. Steele says that with Paige turning 8 we are definitely losing valuable time to correct this vision to a perfect 20/20, so instead of patching...from now on we are doing Atropine drops. It is a slightly more aggressive treatment and what the drops do is dilate the pupil in her good eye and keep that vision blurry 24/7. This forces her left eye (the weaker eye) to work around the clock and do 100% of the work. She still wears her glasses with this and we are hoping to get that final line on the eye chart when we go back in 3 more months.
The good news is that the doctor is very pleased with Paige's progress and says that even if we are at 20/30 or 20/25 permanently, she can still go without her glasses. Paige was very excited to hear that and we are so proud of her for all the work she has put in so far!
Keep your fingers crossed that the Atropine drops are the thing that pushes her over the top and we can get her back to normal vision!