This post was sponsored by Think About Your Eyes as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received compensation as a thank you for my review
One day last summer, Rohan came into the bedroom at the crack of dawn as usual. Normally, I would keep my eyes closed and just raise my arm for him to snuggle in and sneak some more sleep in. For some reason I opened my eyes and looked at his precious face and I immediately gasped and jumped up. I tried to keep my voice calm so I wouldn’t scare him, but he immediately gripped on to me nervously. I asked him if he was feeling ok and patted John to wake him up. Rohan said his eye hurt and he couldn’t see. He tried to reach up to rub it but I caught his arm to stop him……
I don’t think I ever got dressed so fast and got to the doctor at record speed.
(sidebar: this is also the same day I knew I’d have to quit my job soon, because the inconsiderate, audible, exasperated SIGH I heard on the other end of the phone when I called to tell them I had to take my just turned 3 year old to the doctor right away pissed me ALL the way off. – I left about 2 weeks after this.)
The doc said it was an allergic reaction of some sort, possibly a spider or ant bite! I wanted to kill every insect in the world. Anyhow, when we went for his follow up visit after the eye healed up the next week, we were given the news that Rohan was nearsighted and would need glasses very soon. In my head I was like… already?! Oh great. Here comes four-eyes! I’m sorry I did this to you Roey.
Unless you and I are friends in a private convo on Snapchat, you likely will never see me with my glasses on. I have very thick frames and even thicker lenses because of my prescription. My old ophthalmologist told me I am actually legally blind without correction. Bonus: I’m not able to correct them with lasik or other surgeries either. Not a good candidate.
Isn’t that random.
Ever since I was young I was very…preoccupied with my vision. Before being allowed to get contacts, wearing glasses, and feeling super uncomfortable without them (like swimming at the beach or pool) was the worst. Actually, no…being chased by a random dog while I had no glasses on, seeing colorful blurs whizzing by was probably the real worst. To this day, those few moments I am not in contacts or glasses, I legit feel unsafe. I also get chronic headaches that start behind my eyes all the time… and I feel like so many people dont’ really think about their eyes and vision, and all the things impacted by it… they just take it for granted.
I got my glasses at 4 years old and my prescription got higher and higher each year until mid 20s when it stabilized. Mind you, my mom has a bit of nearsightedness which she corrected with surgery and my dad’s eyesight is perfect. He only needs readers now cuz he’s pushin 60. John’s dad had good vision but his mom has multiple eye disorders.
Fun fact: John went blind in one eye at random one day. He just straight up lost vision and had to see a whole bunch of specialists and neurologists and it eventually came back. (How scary is that?!) I asked him when he last got his eyes checked… it was ages ago. You best believe he goes like clockwork each year to get his eyes thoroughly checked now.
Anyway, back to Ro. We went to another doctor for a second opinion on his eyes and the doctor said he’s not nearsighted at all, and is actually slightly farsighted which is normal and preferred at his age. ::shrug:: I’m still going to be taking him every year to get a full check on those big brown eyes.
So far Kai’s eyes are perfect. Thankfully.
I share all this to say… take care of your eyes folks. They are precious and you only get the two you’re born with. We go to the doctor regularly, and the dentist. In a recent survey of members of Life Time Fitness, they found that some gym-goers neglect their eye health despite being very conscious of their body’s health and fitness.
We need to treat our eye health the same way we do other parts of our body. Don’t take them for granted.
Think About Your Eyes is a national public awareness campaign that promotes the benefits of eye health, urging people to get annual comprehensive eye exams. Go HERE to find a doctor near you.
How often do you get your eyes checked?
I actually just got my eyes checked last week. I have a minor prescription and only need to wear them while on the computer which is like 24/7. Lol! All four of my kiddos wear glasses and now I need to get on them to wear their glasses consistently. The struggle… O_o
I did too. One day I woke up blind in both eyes. I go get my eyes checked every year and nothing really wrong, but no one could figure out why it happened in the first place. I still have lingering issues though.
Okay, I said I need to get a new prescription but this is a complete reminder! Scheduling my appointment for next week today!
Sounds like me. Only a few people have seen me with my glasses on (mostly old co-workers). For me, it’s just the one eye that’s nearly blind, but it still causes issues for me from time to time.