The Chatty Homemaker

Recap of the results from the first specialist

Here is a short recap of the results we got from the first specialist and the results we were hoping for. We spent about an hour and a half in his office. They did a lot of testing, and imaging with his eyes dilated so they could get good scans. The doctor came in after reviewing the pictures, and gave us what he thought was good news. He, like the referring doctor, said he thought is was solar retinopathy. Noah and I both knew that it is not solar retinopathy. We also knew that it was not treatable, but were hopeful that he was right. After all he is the doctor.

The second possible diagnosis he gave was fluid leakage. This was much more believable for us, and it is treatable. We now had great hope that Noah was not going to lose his eyesight. He did give a third possible diagnosis of genetic abnormality that was also treatable. So, we left there with high hopes that the Lord was going to give back the sight that was already lost, and that he wouldn’t be in jeopardy of any further vision loss. He told us that he wanted us to see a second, retina specific specialist before the end of the week so that he could begin treatment before it was too late to do so.

The second specialist

We saw the first specialist on Wednesday. Thursday the nurse called and told me to have Noah at Riley at 2:00 on Friday to see the second specialist. I was thrilled, but also nervous. We all continued in prayer, and went on about life as normal as we could. Friday morning came, and we had a full day planned out. First we went to the gym. Then we dropped Aaron off at work. From there we started our grocery shopping day out at Meijer. When we were done there we went on to Aldi. Then we took Noah’s eyeglasses back to America’s Best to have them remake the lenses with the correct prescription.

I was a little worried that they may give me a hard time about remaking them. We prayed together before I went in. I even called Aaron and told him to pray. The lady was super sweet about it, and told me that she still had his file out since they were waiting on the first specialist to get back to them. I informed her that we were seeing a second specialist that afternoon. She made a note of that, and I left. Then we finished up our shopping at Costco, and ate lunch of course. We then headed to Guitar Center for a new bridge for Noah’s guitar. After that we still had a little time to kill so we went couch shopping.

Finally time to go see the specialist

After about an hour and a half of couch shopping it was finally time to go see the specialist. We prayed again, and headed toward Indianapolis. When we got there we both had to take a moment to breathe. The last time I was there was the night my niece died. It was the last place I really wanted to be, but my son’s health is very important to me. So, we prayed again, and headed in.

We went through security then on to the elevators. Once we got to the second floor and got out I looked around and didn’t see where we were supposed to go. Then I remembered that there were many different elevators that led to many different parts of the hospital. So, we got back in the elevator, and went back down. I asked the security guard where we were supposed to go. He told me that I had gone to the correct place the first time. Go figure, it’s just like me to second guess myself for no reason.

When we went back up I saw where we needed to be right away. I think maybe I was just nervous, or thinking too much. We made it, and got him all checked in. We didn’t have to wait long before they called him back either.

He did not give us the results we were hoping for

They dilated his eyes for the second time in three days. He was not super happy about that, but they have to do what they have to do, to see what they need to see. Silly kid forgot his sunglasses, too. I felt bad for him, but knew we were there to get answers even if he had to be uncomfortable for a little bit. They did a lot more imaging and testing. I felt like he was going to be in the imaging room forever.

When the doctor came in he sent Noah back for more pictures while he talked to me. He started out talking about solar retinopathy. I stopped him and told him that, that was not what is going on with Noah. He said that I was correct, and that he could not figure out why the other doctors even thought that, other than the fact that we had just had an eclipse. He and I agree that they should be looking more at facts than trying to blame every eye problem on the sun.

So, what is it? They are doing some genetic testing to be able to make a formal diagnosis of Stargardt Disease. In short, he did not give us the results we were hoping for. Noah will not be able to regain the vision he has lost. He will very likely lose all of the center vision in his right eye. It is also possible that he may begin to have symptoms in his left eye, too.

Prayerfully hopeful

We are prayerfully hopeful that the Lord can, and will fix this for Noah. He created the ABCA4 gene as well as Noah’s eyes, so he can also fix them if he wants to. We are just as prayerfully hopeful that if God chooses not to restore Noah’s sight or stop it from progressing, that he will give abundant grace to us all to cope with it. Noah’s heart through all of this has been encouraging to me. Every time he sees me begin to cry he reminds me to stop and pray. He truly is an incredible gift from God. My prayers have been answered in him so often. My prayer for him has always been that the Lord will have His will in his life, and that he will be greatly used of God. I see this as a way for God to get glory in Noah’s life.

Even though we did not get the results we were hoping for, we are aware that they could have easily been worse. We are all praising the Lord that he does not have cancer, and does not need to have his eye removed.

I know that God has preformed miracles in our lives, even more than we actually know, and he is able to do so again. The light in Noah’s heart for the Lord is shining bright, and I am praying that it will only get brighter as the days go by. We will all, if we live long enough, begin to have the light in our eyes go dimer and dimer over time. But, the our light for the Lord has no limit on how bright it can grow if we continue to shine it, and feed it.