…all new things for me to learn about as a parent.

Wow!  What a day this turned out to be!  Jake has recently started with what appears to be a new tic.  He randomly (and frequently) rolls his eyes while rolling his head down and to the side.  It doesn’t seem to be worse or better at any time of day or during any particular activity.  Just to be on the safe side, I brought him to the pediatrician to see Ms. Ann.

Jake’s overall health was fine, but Ann is unsure of this ‘tic’.  Our normal doctor, Ms. Margaret, is the resident tic expert, so Ann said she will speak with her on Tuesday when they are both in the office to see what sort of tests, if any, Ms. Margaret would recommend to ensure that these behaviors he’s had over the years (throat clearing, gasping, etc) are truly childhood tics and not indicators of some other bigger problem.  I’ll update you when I know more.

Another thing that happened while we were there is they checked Jake’s vision (since this ‘tic’ involved his eyes).  He tested at 20/40, so they recommended he see an Optometrist.  I’ve never actually taken the boys for a comprehensive eye exam, so I made an appointment for them for next week.  We lucked out, however, because they called back within the hour with a cancellation for today.  We ended up seeing the eye doctor this afternoon.

Again, shocking news.  Although Brandon’s vision tested at 20/20, he is apparently red-green colorblind.  They did the Ishihara test on him via a book that he was to look through and say the numbers, and he missed all but two of them.  Jake read every one of them.  I was very shocked by this news.  Apparently, this means the man who donated half of my genetics to me was color blind, and therefore I carry the trait and have passed it on to one of my sons.

While that was the highlight of Brandon’s visit, Jake’s was that he does need glasses.  Although he tested 20/25 with an astigmatism in one eye (rather than the 20/40 at the pediatric office), apparently his eyes are so different in how they work (something related with the nerves), that she wanted to prescribe glasses for him in an effort to stimulate the nerves to work together better.  He is farsighted, but the prescription will be very mild.

I expect all three of our kids will need glasses.  Seriously, most of our relatives on both sides needed glasses at some point in their lives, so our kids are doomed.  Jake was very excited to pick out glasses, and Brandon was disappointed that he didn’t get to get any.  If only he knew how much he’d hate them in the future….