Categories: uncategorized
Date: 14 January 2004 13:15:02
We embarked on daughter's second hospital appointment in two days quite lightheartedly. We even turned up in the wrong place, but fortunately had time to get to where we needed to be. Daughter's teacher had commented that daughter was having vision problems - we expected to find out from the ophthalmologist that daughter was going to 'join the glasses team'. As the tests proceeded, however, I began to realise that something rather more serious was at stake. The ophthalmologist confirmed my fears when he said that daughter doesn't need glasses. The likeliest cause of her deteriorating vision is thickening of the optic nerve.
Four years ago, we took daughter to see a clinical geneticist because her left eye appeared to be pushing forward. Within hours, she was admitted to the Sick Kids, and within days was receiving chemotherapy to treat an optic nerve glioma. Daughter has a condition called Neurofibromatosis Type 1. Optic nerve gliomas occur in a percentage of cases of this condition. As we were to learn, daughter had already lost the sight in one eye; the doctors were hoping to prevent her losing the use of the other.
Following Monday's consultation, an MRI was already being arranged, to investigate the thickening around her collar bone. I guess that they'll raise the priority and get it to happen as soon as possible. And then, depending on what they find, hard decisions may have to be taken.