Baby eye doctor

RantWoman had an eye appointment a couple days ago. RantWoman has a really kind doctor, but the place is not really one's first choice for where to have frequent flyer miles. The appointment went about the way RantWoman was worried about: time to sleep more, eat less salt, exercise and see if the problem subsides enough....

Enough about RantWoman's eye appointments. Now RantWoman wants to post about The Triplets! RantWoman knows a couple who just had triplets. The triplets were born very premature and they are lucky to have parents with time to participate in the NICU's recommended regimen. It has been several weeks already and in general both the triplets and their parents are doing great. Well Dad is really, really gushy, but considering the circumstances, that is definitely allowed They even have a blog--with LOTS of pictures, though RantWoman needs to find out the url and to ask permission before posting a link.

With premature babies, one big risk is Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). Dear Readers, if you need instant definition, you can Google it as well as RantWoman can. ROP is a problem in the development of babies' retinas and the blood vessels in their eyes. Premature babies are monitored. Some never have the problem. Some have early stages and grow out of it. Some need treatment and the sooner the better.

ROP is not RantWoman's problem but RantWoman is mainly reflecting on personal experience in the childhood eye tortures department and not feeling need for more detail. The point is that as the babies grow, they get periodic tests to evaluate what is happening to their retinas and the blood vessels in their eyes. These tests involve placing a little plastic device in the eyes to keep them open long enough for whatever else the doctor needs to do.

Owwww, right? RantWoman would not know because she was a child long ago, basically before there was dirt and certainly before there were these particular eye torture devices. Sometimes when RantWoman gets a new doctor, the doctor listens to medical history and says "well, now we do things differently." Maybe sometime RantWoman will post about other adventures involving trying to find the invisible bunnies her mother kept telling her were there when a very young RantWoman would not otherwise track whatever the doctor needed to have tracked.

Today's topic, though. is general parental freakout about child's medical challenges. This is a topic RantWoman and RantMom have begun cautiously treading into ever since RantMom moved to Seattle. Since then, we talk more often and more freely and with space to go away and come back to things. ROP is scary and the triplets' dad has parental freakout in a big way. It would be bad enough if he just had to make up invisible bunnies. He has to cope with the babies' howls of pain and extreme discomfort while some stranger sticks plastic things in their eyes and then shines bright lights or peers through a magnifier or whatever else is involved.

All RantWoman can say is, freakout is okay. It happens. It's understandable, but the babies are brave. Tell them so. Tell them this is necessary and will not last long. Tell them you love them. Tell them they are brave. It will make you feel braver too. Well, if Dad is too freaked out to hold the babies' hands or to comfort them then his efforts won't help or will make things harder, but Courage! Courage all around.