Implementation
- Implementation
- See By Three
- Physicians Participating in See by Three
- Pediatric Ophthalmologists Participating in See by Three
- Objective Screening Devices
- Adult Strabismus
- Amblyopia 411
- What is Amblyopia
- Goals of Amblyopia Treatment
- What Patch to Use
- Questions About Atropine Therapy for Amblyopia
- Amblyopia FAQ
- Economic Impact of Blindness from Amblyopia
- See by Three Progress
- Eyecare for Kids
- See by Three Graphic
Jaxon’s Story
Jaxon is 2 years, 9 months old. As described by his mom, "Jaxon is a happy, mellow little boy who giggles and laughs more than anything else." Jaxon was diagnosed with strabismus and amblyopia in his right eye at 14 months of age.
When asked about how Jaxon's eye problem was identified, his mom recalls, "At Jaxon’s one year well baby checkup with his pediatrician, the doctor paused after performing a red eye reflex test." Although the doctor thought he saw something initially, a closer examination did not reveal an issue. However, after going home and looking through pictures, Jaxon's mom noticed that often he wasn't looking at the camera with both eyes and one eye didn't seem to ever have the red eye reflex that the other showed.
Shortly after noticing problems in photographs, it was confirmed that there was a problem and a referral was made to a pediatric ophthalmologist. At Jaxon’s first appointment with his pediatric ophthalmologist, he was prescribed glasses that would help relax his eye muscles and help his eyes focus. His parents were told to do their best to have Jaxon wear his glasses for several weeks and then a return appointment was scheduled.
Jaxon took about two days to get used to his glasses. His parents tried all sorts of things to ensure he wore the glasses, including sneaking up on him and sliding them on his head and heaping on praise when he wore them.
After wearing glasses for a few weeks, Jaxon and his parents went back to the pediatric ophthalmologist to determine if the glasses had helped. Unfortunately, glasses did not fix Jaxon’s eye. His parent’s were told that he would need surgery to fix his eye and that patching was needed for four hours each day on his strong eye to help strengthen his weaker eye.
Jaxon’s mom is thankful to her pediatric ophthalmologist who, “Spends quite a bit of time in our appointments answering my seemingly endless questions, being patient at his screams and squirms as he tries to avoid anything she tries to do.”
For parents in similar circumstances, Jaxon’s mom suggests, “Stay calm, get informed and do some research. I was terrified about the thought of surgery for Jaxon, worried about potential blindness in the eye that he is not using.” She goes on to say, “I would also advise parents to take it one step at a time. With Jaxon, I decided I would not worry about surgery until it was determined he needed it. At that point, I learned all I could about the procedure itself. I know that the procedure does not have a 100% success rate and I understand he may have several surgeries to align his eyes.“
Jaxon’s family found the Children’s Eye Foundation when doing research on eye problems. She relates her experience with the Children’s Eye Foundation by saying, “When I found the Children’s Eye Foundation website I was so happy. I have returned to this website over and over to read and reread about Jaxon’s conditions, to review the strabismus surgery handbook and to vote in the calendar contest, of course! “
Jaxon’s mom concludes by saying, “Thank you to the Children’s Eye Foundation for all the information available for parents out there like me. Your website is a trusted resource for learning about what my child is experiencing. Thank you for giving Jaxon and my family the opportunity to represent your values and promote your causes by being a little ambassador. It is a great honor. I hope our story will be of some help for anyone out there that might have experiences similar to ours.“