Over the past year I've noticed that Ryan sits very close to the TV, holds the DS close to his face, and when I asked about a picture a few feet away, he said he couldn't read the letters. When he went for his annual checkup last Spring, he didn't want to read the letter chart for the eye exam. The pediatrician suggested we go to a pediatric ophthalmologist. She thought Ryan might feel comfortable having the exam there. That didn't fly at all. Ryan didn't want to go, but said he would check it out. He told the doctor to stay away while he explored the chair and the equipment. She tried to examine him. He kicked her, hard. We left. Even after he calmed down, he had no interest in ever going back. He explained to us that since she was a doctor and since doctors give shots, she was going to give him a shot. We told him that we had never heard of an eye doctor giving a shot during an exam, but he said, "Eye doctor, doctor. Doctor shot. Duh."
When he found out that Esther and I were getting eye exams, he said he would go. We told him he could decide to leave at any time, and asked him to just say he wanted to go instead of kicking the doctor. So, off we went. He brought his DS and played it in the waiting room. He watched me get examined and then hopped up in the chair. I asked the nurse to use the picture chart since he is not as comfortable with letters as he is with pictures, but she refused. He couldn't see anymore than the first line of the chart. The nurse then announced that he would need to get his eyes dilated. I asked if the drops hurt and she said yes. Ryan said, "I'm out of here," but stayed in the chair. Esther and I offered to have him sit on one of our laps or hold our hands, but he didn't to do that. The nurse told us to hold his arms. We refused. She said he has to have this. While she was talking (over him) he was saying that he would do it in few minutes. The nurse was really rude.
Nurse: "You really should just hold him."
Ba: "Ryan do you want to try the drops?"
Ryan: "OK, just wait a minute. Can I have a tissue?"
Ba: "Sure."
Nurse: "He's a child just hold him."
Ba and Mimi in unison: "He's a person."
Nurse: "Right, but he's still a child. He doesn't know-"
Ba and Mimi: "He's a person."
Ryan: "OK, you can do it now. I"m ready now."
He was really brave. The drops stung a lot. The worst part of all this, aside from the clueless nurse, was that the drops didn't get into his left eye and he had to get them again. The second time a different nurse did it. She was patient and attentive to him. She waited until he was ready and stood back and gave him lots of room. She gave all the tissues he wanted and sympathized with him. She brought him Ironman stickers immediately after giving him the drops. He threw them on the floor and called them stupid, but he liked them later.
The ophthalmologist was very nice and patient. He said Ryan's vision is 20/50, but he didn't want to try Ryan's patience by working out a prescription today. He asked if Ryan had been to the pediatric ophthalmologist, and when we told him what happened there, he was understanding and said he could figure out he prescription himself. We have an appointment three weeks hence. He promised Ryan that he wouldn't need drops at that appointment and that he and Ryan would "play with [his] glasses." Ryan psyched about going back because he and Mimi will get to pick out frames together. I have no clue whether or not he'll actually wear the glasses, but we'll get two pairs of glasses and see what happens. Hopefully he'll use them, be able to see more clearly, and enjoy things more.
