A Whole New World
If you haven’t seen the pictures yet, Maddie has a cool set of pink glasses now. She was prescribed these glasses to fix an eye turn with her right eye. At times Maddie’s eye would wander towards her nose, due to a weak muscle. This eye turn theoretically would make Maddie have double vision when focusing on items close up.
Boy what a difference these glasses have made. We were nervous that she wouldn’t want to wear them. The first time we put them on her however, a huge smile crossed her face. She started giggling uncontrollably. It was a great first sign. Over the first few days Maddie diligently wore her glasses, and didn’t give us much fuss.
A couple days after we received Maddie’s glasses in the mail, she had a physical therapy appointment. She was non compliant in a different way. Usually if Maddie doesn’t want to participate in physical therapy, she will have a melt down. If the melt down doesn’t work, she stiffens her legs and won’t look her therapist in the eyes. Her first physical therapy session with the glasses however, she just wanted to observe her surroundings. Every new person that walked by, and every sound she darted her eyes to locate the disruption.
I can only imagine how Maddie was viewing the world before her glasses. Since she is nonverbal, she couldn’t tell us what she could or couldn’t see. She couldn’t describe how she saw the world. Thankfully her optometrist could use her experience to make an educated guess on what to do with our little lady.
Maddie is even starting to share in her playing. In the past she wasn’t very interactive with others while playing. Now she loves the back and forth of playing with mom and dad. It’s almost like we have a child who aged overnight. She loves it when she can crawl after dad, and she still loves to pull mom close.
The little wins equal a big change with Maddie. Now that she can see better, we’re hoping her fine motor skills improve. We already see a change at dinner time. Instead of using her hands to feel for textures, she is identifying the food she wants to eat with her eyesight. I can tell she has made huge strides in just two short weeks, I can’t wait to see where she’s at in two months.
Just a friendly reminder that the Angelman walk is a month away. If you would like your “Angelman Strong” shirt mailed to you, you have to sign up by April 17th, 2023. If you cannot attend but would still like a shirt, there is a virtual option. Thank you for supporting our Maddie and all of the other individuals with Angelman Syndrome. I hope to see you in Ann Arbor. Click here to register and/or donate to Team Maddie’s Joy.
-Written by Adam Birchmeier
