To find out how we found out Den has a squint, read Part I
To find out more about her operation, read Part II
Den slept in the eye center one hour after she came out from the operation. I carried her home. She continued to sleep for 3 hours. Too tired from all the crying and the general anesthetic, I think. She woke up once screaming for me because she still can't open her eyes. So I decided to sleep with her so that she would feel more secure.
She woke up at 2pm. Rested and in a much better mood. She still can't open her eyes but she allowed us to feed her milk and later some cereal.
She took up ST's challenge to play piano without seeing (later she secretly admitted to me she can actually see a little bit). I was very happy that she can remember all the songs. I was a bit worried she might forget some of the things she learned because of the general anesthetic.
After that, she opened up all her presents. I prepared 3 presents for her and her best friend EE also prepared a present for her. I brought all the presents to the eye center for her and wanted to give them to her right after the operation but she was too confused to be interested in them.
She was in a very good mood the whole afternoon and she opened her eyes bit by bit. She complained she can't open them wide because when she opened them wide, she saw double images. Her eyes were sensitive but had no pain (thank God!) and we did not give her any pain killer. However, we need to put an eye drops into her eye every few hours and she refused to let us do it. Finally, we can't wait any longer, so we restrained her. She struggled and cried but at least we got it done.
Later, when my brother in Australia heard of it, promised to buy her a princess present for every time she put in eye drops (hmmm.. I think he did not know she need to put in eye drops 4 times per day!)
Even with the promise of presents, we still need to restrain her before we can put another round of eye drops in her before she sleeps.
The next morning (10 Sept 2009), we brought her back to the eye center for check-up.
Doc told us double image was very command after the operation because of the over-correction. He purposely did it that way so that hopefully can force Den's brain to use both eyes. In a week or two hopefully, Den's brain would learn to put the 2 images into one. In the meantime, she can't play outdoors.
We will go back for a check-up in 3 weeks' time.
He also allowed us to cut down her eye drops from 4 times per day to 2 times per day. I was very happy. But, surprised! when we came back from the center and it was time for the eye drop, Den laid down bravely and willingly and asked us to go ahead! I still don't know what made the change of heart. Since then, we have had no problem dropping eye drops in for her.
Today is Sat. 3 days after the operation. So far there was no problem except she still sees double images. There was nothing we can do about that except pray.
We also follow the Chinese custom and not eating some food like chicken, beef, seafood (except fish), etc. We have not wash her hair yet, worry the water will get into her eyes (doc recommendation was not wash her hair for at least 24 hours). The corner of her eye is still very red but other than that she is pretty much back to her old monkey self. :) All glory to God.
Showing posts with label squint. Show all posts
Showing posts with label squint. Show all posts
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Part II - Eye Operation
As I mentioned in my previous post, Den went through an eye operation on 9 Sept 2009 because she had a squint.
We were briefed by a very nice anesthetist, Dr. Cheah (Den needed GA-general anesthetic). She told us what to expect before and after the operation. I took the opportunity to ask if there were any needles involved. Den is super afraid of needles. Dr Cheah told us she would be using the gas mask to put Den to sleep first before she inserts the cannula into her vein. Den and I thought that was a prayer answered!
Soon after Den and I changed into the clothes provided by the center, we were ushered into the operation theater. ST and I decided I would be the one accompanying Den into the room until she was put to sleep. After that, I would have to leave the room, which I am very grateful for. I don't think I can stand to watch the operation. I always looked away whenever there is any scene of an operation on TV...
In OT room, I carried Den while Dr. Cheah put a mask covering Den's nose and mouth. She asked Den to blow up a balloon. Every time she blow out air, the balloon would be inflated. Then it shrinked again. Den did it a few times before she started to lose consciousness. She started to struggle then. Dr. Cheah already briefed me about this, so I just hang on to her. After a few seconds of struggling, Den was unconscious and I was ushered out.
We waited at the lounge along with my parents for about 45-50min. I saw a cute little girl, maybe one plus to 2 years old getting ready for an operation. She was still sucking on a pacifier. Once again, I thank God that Den was only having an operation when she was 4.5 years old and not earlier, at least now we can reason with her.
Before Den was wheeled out, Dr. Choong came out and told us the operation was straightforward and successful. He did not foresee any problem. I thanked God silently.
When Den came out of the OT, she was still unconscious. She woke up a few minutes later and started to make a very big fuss. Dr. Cheah warned us about that but I did not expect her to struggle like that. She screamed and she kicked and she would not want to be comforted or settle down.
We kept asking her what was wrong but she can't answer us. I think she was still very confused. We kept trying to restrain her because we worry she would rub her eyes and she kept struggling....did not know she was that strong!
Finally, she opened her eyes and saw my dad and she wanted my dad to carry her. She settled down for a min or two when my dad carried her and then she realized the cannula attached to her left wrist. She wanted to pull the cannula out and started another screaming fuss when we refused.
We kept telling her we had to wait for her to drink and not throw up before the nurse can take out the cannula but she was beyond reasoning. We took turns carrying her and tried to settle her down. We managed to feed her one small sip of water but the nurse said we better fed more before she took out the cannula. So the crying continued. I am glad there was no other patient in the room.
We got her to drink two more sips of water and the nurse decided to take out her cannula. She took out the cannula and put plaster and cotton on her wound. This time Den cried and screamed for the nurse to take out the plaster and cotton. She scream so loud that the nurse decided to change it to a normal bandage. She still refused to calm down and continue to scream "Take it out! Take it out!"
That's when I finally realized something is amiss. I asked Den if was she crying because of the bandage or because she can't open her eyes. She told me because she can't open her eyes.
Dr. Cheah told us before the operation, she might not be able to open her eyes for a while because of the oil doc put on her eyes. Some of the patients can open their eyes right after the operation and some have to wait til at night.
Den can't open her eyes when she first came out of OT, but a few minutes later she could open them wide and saw my dad (and later saw the cannula). I think it was not comfortable for her and so she shut them tight again and they were stuck once again and she can't open them despite struggling.
There was nothing I can do but hold her. Maybe because now that I found out the reason for her discomfort, she was somehow comforted. She let me hold her till she fell asleep.
From out of OT to asleep, it was only one short hour but it felt like hours.
The night before the operation, I read 3 Bible stories to her. There were all about Jesus- Jesus brings a boy back to life (Luke 6-7); Jesus heals the woman who touches his clothes (Mark 5) and Jesus stops a storm (Mark 4). These are the Bible stories we are supposed to read next week but I think it was rather fitting for us to read the night before the surgery.
The stories comforted us. We knew that nothing is impossible for God. He is stronger and bigger than any problem we faced. ST and I thought we won't be able to sleep that night but he ended up sleeping rather earlier. I slept a bit late but not later than usual.
The operation was set for 9am. We need to reach the eye center by 830am. Den was not allowed to eat in the morning. So we decided not to wake her up. Instead, we carried her up to the car and let her continue to sleep in the car. We only woke her up when we reached the eye center. We wanted to shorten the time between her awake and the operation so that hopefully she won't be hungry. The tactic worked. She never asked for milk. We reached the center 15 min earlier and it was not opened yet. We waited for a while before all the nurses came in. They measured Den's heartbeat and put a name tag on her wrist. Den is very sensitive to touch and kept complaining about the tag.We were briefed by a very nice anesthetist, Dr. Cheah (Den needed GA-general anesthetic). She told us what to expect before and after the operation. I took the opportunity to ask if there were any needles involved. Den is super afraid of needles. Dr Cheah told us she would be using the gas mask to put Den to sleep first before she inserts the cannula into her vein. Den and I thought that was a prayer answered!
Soon after Den and I changed into the clothes provided by the center, we were ushered into the operation theater. ST and I decided I would be the one accompanying Den into the room until she was put to sleep. After that, I would have to leave the room, which I am very grateful for. I don't think I can stand to watch the operation. I always looked away whenever there is any scene of an operation on TV...
In OT room, I carried Den while Dr. Cheah put a mask covering Den's nose and mouth. She asked Den to blow up a balloon. Every time she blow out air, the balloon would be inflated. Then it shrinked again. Den did it a few times before she started to lose consciousness. She started to struggle then. Dr. Cheah already briefed me about this, so I just hang on to her. After a few seconds of struggling, Den was unconscious and I was ushered out.
We waited at the lounge along with my parents for about 45-50min. I saw a cute little girl, maybe one plus to 2 years old getting ready for an operation. She was still sucking on a pacifier. Once again, I thank God that Den was only having an operation when she was 4.5 years old and not earlier, at least now we can reason with her.
Before Den was wheeled out, Dr. Choong came out and told us the operation was straightforward and successful. He did not foresee any problem. I thanked God silently.
When Den came out of the OT, she was still unconscious. She woke up a few minutes later and started to make a very big fuss. Dr. Cheah warned us about that but I did not expect her to struggle like that. She screamed and she kicked and she would not want to be comforted or settle down.
We kept asking her what was wrong but she can't answer us. I think she was still very confused. We kept trying to restrain her because we worry she would rub her eyes and she kept struggling....did not know she was that strong!
Finally, she opened her eyes and saw my dad and she wanted my dad to carry her. She settled down for a min or two when my dad carried her and then she realized the cannula attached to her left wrist. She wanted to pull the cannula out and started another screaming fuss when we refused.
We kept telling her we had to wait for her to drink and not throw up before the nurse can take out the cannula but she was beyond reasoning. We took turns carrying her and tried to settle her down. We managed to feed her one small sip of water but the nurse said we better fed more before she took out the cannula. So the crying continued. I am glad there was no other patient in the room.
We got her to drink two more sips of water and the nurse decided to take out her cannula. She took out the cannula and put plaster and cotton on her wound. This time Den cried and screamed for the nurse to take out the plaster and cotton. She scream so loud that the nurse decided to change it to a normal bandage. She still refused to calm down and continue to scream "Take it out! Take it out!"
That's when I finally realized something is amiss. I asked Den if was she crying because of the bandage or because she can't open her eyes. She told me because she can't open her eyes.
Dr. Cheah told us before the operation, she might not be able to open her eyes for a while because of the oil doc put on her eyes. Some of the patients can open their eyes right after the operation and some have to wait til at night.
Den can't open her eyes when she first came out of OT, but a few minutes later she could open them wide and saw my dad (and later saw the cannula). I think it was not comfortable for her and so she shut them tight again and they were stuck once again and she can't open them despite struggling.
There was nothing I can do but hold her. Maybe because now that I found out the reason for her discomfort, she was somehow comforted. She let me hold her till she fell asleep.
From out of OT to asleep, it was only one short hour but it felt like hours.
Part I -Eye Checkup
Den went through an operation on Wed (9 Sept 2009) morning at 9am to correct her squint.
Since we found out about her squint and astigmatism, we got a lot of questions on how did we find out. It seems like it is not a command practice for parents in Malaysia to bring their young children for routine eye checks.
We wanted to bring Den for an eye check-up when she was 2 years old but did not know where to go to. I can't find a development optometrist. Finally got her to check her eye at a normal optometrist when she knew all her ABCs quite well. She was almost 3 years old. We did not suspect anything is amiss, just wanted to make sure. We did the same with dental check-ups. We brought her along whenever we went to the dentist so that the dentist can have a look at her teeth. So far she has no problem with her teeth.
I wished the same can be said about her eyes.
The optometrist told us that Den has astigmatism in both eyes (power 100) and suggested we get her a pair of glasses right away. We refused. We asked around and were told we should get her to an eye specialist, or an ophthalmologist.
After some research and recommendation from friends and relatives, we decided to bring her to Dr. Choong; for an eye check-up. Dr. Choong confirmed she has astigmatism and told us that 20% of Chinese kids are born with astigmatism. It is due to our eye sockets being too narrow and thus pushing our eyeballs to an oval shape (instead of round). Sometimes when the kid grows up, her eye sockets will grow deeper and astigmatism might disappear.
Dr. Choong thought it was not necessary for Den to wear glasses for the time being because the power was not too high and she was not in school yet. He asked us to come back for a check-up in 6 month time. He did not notice anything else was wrong with Den's eyes.
6 months later, in August 2009, we went back for a check-up. This time, the optometrist in Dr. Chong's clinic found out Den's right eye has no astigmatism but her left eye astigmatism power has increased to 200. She also saw a squint in her eyes.
Dr. Choong checked Den and told us that because of the squint, Den's brain was only using her right eye and not her left eye. In another word, she has no 3D vision and it was very hard for her to judge depth. He told us we need to get her glasses for her astigmatism and an operation for her squint as soon as possible so that her brain can relearn how to use both eyes. He also told us the operation can only tighten her eyeball muscle but no guarantee her brain would be able to use both eyes after the operation. Needless to say, we were shocked.
After we came home, I did some research on the internet and found out that maybe we should see an orthoptist for a second opinion. We are ok for her to go through an operation but very worried that what if after the operation her brain still refuses to use both eyes? It seems like there are lots of kids who went through multiple operations because after 1 operation, their brain still refused to use both eyes so after a while their eyes drifted apart again.
I searched for an orthoptist in Malaysia. Surprise! I can only find 2 orthoptist listings in Malaysia. One in KL and the other one in Sarawak! We called up Ms. Chu, the orthoptist in KL, and went for a check-up. It was very inconvenient. Her clinic is in Jln Ipoh and she doesn't take appointments. First come first serve only. She takes a long long time with her patients and so the wait can be rather tiring. Having said all that, we were so so glad we found her, it was well worth the afford.
Ms. Chu did a detailed checkup on Den's eye. It took her an hour. She drew up a chart to show us the exact degrees of her eyes have drifted apart. She also found out that Den was using two eyes when she was looking at something near and only her Right eye when looking at a distance which was a big relief for us.
She suggested we got her a pair of glasses as soon as possible and also do daily patching. At the same time, she agreed that surgery was the fastest way to correct her squint.
After much consideration, ST and I decided to opt for the operation. Follow up with therapy with Ms Chu if it is necessary.
It is very important to bring your kids for a routine eye check-up. We can never tell that Den has a squint from her appearance. In fact, most of our friends and relatives were very surprised. I will recommend Ms. Chu, the orthoptist for a routine checkup. This is her clinic address & detail:
Ms. KC Chu
K.C. Chu Orthoptic Centre
Unit 4c,
4th Floor Bangunana UMNO Selangor,
142 Jalan Ipoh,
51200 KL
Tel:03-40424220
Email: chukc@tm.net.com
Opening hour:
Mon, Thurs, Fri 9-5
Tues & Wed 9-1
Sat 8-11
She specializes in:
Visual assessment - screening & general orthoptics
Squint
Lazy eye
Double vision
Since we found out about her squint and astigmatism, we got a lot of questions on how did we find out. It seems like it is not a command practice for parents in Malaysia to bring their young children for routine eye checks.
We wanted to bring Den for an eye check-up when she was 2 years old but did not know where to go to. I can't find a development optometrist. Finally got her to check her eye at a normal optometrist when she knew all her ABCs quite well. She was almost 3 years old. We did not suspect anything is amiss, just wanted to make sure. We did the same with dental check-ups. We brought her along whenever we went to the dentist so that the dentist can have a look at her teeth. So far she has no problem with her teeth.
I wished the same can be said about her eyes.
The optometrist told us that Den has astigmatism in both eyes (power 100) and suggested we get her a pair of glasses right away. We refused. We asked around and were told we should get her to an eye specialist, or an ophthalmologist.
After some research and recommendation from friends and relatives, we decided to bring her to Dr. Choong; for an eye check-up. Dr. Choong confirmed she has astigmatism and told us that 20% of Chinese kids are born with astigmatism. It is due to our eye sockets being too narrow and thus pushing our eyeballs to an oval shape (instead of round). Sometimes when the kid grows up, her eye sockets will grow deeper and astigmatism might disappear.
Dr. Choong thought it was not necessary for Den to wear glasses for the time being because the power was not too high and she was not in school yet. He asked us to come back for a check-up in 6 month time. He did not notice anything else was wrong with Den's eyes.
6 months later, in August 2009, we went back for a check-up. This time, the optometrist in Dr. Chong's clinic found out Den's right eye has no astigmatism but her left eye astigmatism power has increased to 200. She also saw a squint in her eyes.
Dr. Choong checked Den and told us that because of the squint, Den's brain was only using her right eye and not her left eye. In another word, she has no 3D vision and it was very hard for her to judge depth. He told us we need to get her glasses for her astigmatism and an operation for her squint as soon as possible so that her brain can relearn how to use both eyes. He also told us the operation can only tighten her eyeball muscle but no guarantee her brain would be able to use both eyes after the operation. Needless to say, we were shocked.
After we came home, I did some research on the internet and found out that maybe we should see an orthoptist for a second opinion. We are ok for her to go through an operation but very worried that what if after the operation her brain still refuses to use both eyes? It seems like there are lots of kids who went through multiple operations because after 1 operation, their brain still refused to use both eyes so after a while their eyes drifted apart again.
I searched for an orthoptist in Malaysia. Surprise! I can only find 2 orthoptist listings in Malaysia. One in KL and the other one in Sarawak! We called up Ms. Chu, the orthoptist in KL, and went for a check-up. It was very inconvenient. Her clinic is in Jln Ipoh and she doesn't take appointments. First come first serve only. She takes a long long time with her patients and so the wait can be rather tiring. Having said all that, we were so so glad we found her, it was well worth the afford.
Ms. Chu did a detailed checkup on Den's eye. It took her an hour. She drew up a chart to show us the exact degrees of her eyes have drifted apart. She also found out that Den was using two eyes when she was looking at something near and only her Right eye when looking at a distance which was a big relief for us.
She suggested we got her a pair of glasses as soon as possible and also do daily patching. At the same time, she agreed that surgery was the fastest way to correct her squint.
After much consideration, ST and I decided to opt for the operation. Follow up with therapy with Ms Chu if it is necessary.
It is very important to bring your kids for a routine eye check-up. We can never tell that Den has a squint from her appearance. In fact, most of our friends and relatives were very surprised. I will recommend Ms. Chu, the orthoptist for a routine checkup. This is her clinic address & detail:
Ms. KC Chu
K.C. Chu Orthoptic Centre
Unit 4c,
4th Floor Bangunana UMNO Selangor,
142 Jalan Ipoh,
51200 KL
Tel:03-40424220
Email: chukc@tm.net.com
Opening hour:
Mon, Thurs, Fri 9-5
Tues & Wed 9-1
Sat 8-11
She specializes in:
Visual assessment - screening & general orthoptics
Squint
Lazy eye
Double vision
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