Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Me and my buddies




This is me with my friends, Ben and Tyla, and of course my best friend Lola.




They will be operating on my left eye again on Wednesday 5 November at 7h30. Please pray that the operation will be a success!




Thanks; love Cameron

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Good news, bad news

















Cam went in this morning for an EUA. His right eye is looking good: the contact lens prescription is accurate; there's no inflamation, etc. The left eye, however, has some fibrosis (scar tissue and inflamation, basically) on the iris - a result of the cataract surgery. His left pupil can't dilate because of this fibrosis, and it's also making the eye 'milky' again, so very little vision in that eye at the moment. He needs to go in for another operation next week, probably Wednesday, to have the fibrosis removed. Dr Pauw is not too concerned; he reckons that this is not very invasive surgery and should be successful. Afterwards, hopefully, the pupil will be able to dilate more normally and his chance of some vision in that eye will increase. So do keep on praying, please...!

Good news is that his pressure levels in both eyes are low, which means there is no glaucoma at this stage. So grateful for that!

The photos: Cam says hello by reaching out and grabbing your face. He has started greeting Lola that way, too!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Summer








The other day I experienced my first thunderstorm! Mom took me out onto the patio and I felt the rain on my face. I could hear the hail bouncing off the roof, and the leaves sounding all turbulent and confused in the wind, and the rain splashing in the dust and onto the thirsty grass. I’m glad God made thunderstorms.

I’m feeling much better so I’ll be going to the Pretoria Eye Institute for an EUA on Wednesday at 7h30.

The photos are of me and Dad in the pool; Granny feeding me; me playing with noodles and my cousin Meagan; and me SEEING things! :)

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Therapy - and EUA postponed

On Sunday Granny and Grandpa were trying to take some family photos, but Lola and I were messing around...! :)

Then there's a photo of me with Liezl and Anri-Louise at the Baby Therapy Centre on Monday. They were so chuffed with me! I can do all the things that a sighted 6 month old baby can do, and they could see a big improvement in my eyesight, too. We’ve got to keep on doing the visual therapy, OT and physio exercises at home so that I keep on growing strong and so that my eyesight develops as much as possible.

The other photo is of me sleeping - 'cause I've got a cough and a blocked nose. Being sick means I can’t go under anaesthetic, so I can’t have an EUA on Wednesday. Hopefully I’ll be better by next week Wednesday and then they’ll be able to check out my eyes while I’m in a deep sleep…

…which is what I need now. Good night! :)







Friday, October 10, 2008

Me at 6 months




On Tuesday I was 6 months old! Can you believe I’m already half a year?

My contact lenses from the UK arrived at Dad’s work today, so we’ll try those out this weekend. It will be nice to be able to have a long snooze during the day, instead of being woken after half an hour. But I don’t mind these other lenses; I don’t even feel them in my eyes! And I do think they are helping me to see things. I’d never seen Lola before, ‘cause she’s not bright pink or anything, but the other day she was lying next to me on the carpet and I reached out and grabbed her paw!

Everyone reckons my other senses are really developing strongly, too. I even hear Dad’s footsteps on the paving when he comes home from work. When I’m with Granny in the mornings she plays with me in all sorts of ways, like taking me round the garden to smell the flowers. I like to grab a rose with both my hands and bury my whole face in it. I love the way the petals feel, and the smell! And Granny doesn’t mind that the rose isn’t quite the same afterwards.

On Monday I go back to the Baby Therapy Centre to see Anri-Louise and Liezl. They want to see how I’m doing. I can sit and roll and I turn my head in the direction of sounds, and when I’m on my tummy I push myself up and kick my legs – I really want to start crawling soon! So hopefully they will hug me and tell me they are proud of me!

Then on Wednesday Uncle Jacobus (Dr Pauw) is going to do another examination under anaesthetic, with Dad there to check the prescription of my contact lenses. I saw Uncle Jacobus on Tuesday and he said my eyes are looking fine, after the surgery. He’s really pleased that I’m reaching out to objects in front of me.

In 2 Peter 1:3 it says that God has given me everything I need for life and godliness. That’s really encouraging, because it means that I don’t even need to be able to see like other people to have the most splendiferous and abundant life imaginable, and to be all God wants me to be.

Please keep on praying for my Mom and Dad. They still have difficult days.

The photos are of me playing with one of my light box toys (hair gel and food colouring in a ziplock bag), playing of the bed with Nanna, and an outing to Irene Dairy with Aunty Coral, Meagan, Craig and Granny. :)

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The brave little man

Hi, Cameron here.

Mom and Dad are becoming pros at getting my contact lenses in and out! They've got it down to about ten minutes. I've got a new pair that fits really well. I can't wear them all day because it's bad for my eyes if I sleep with them in too much, during the day. I'm still waiting for the special ones from England. Those ones can stay in all day.

Slowly, slowly I think I'm learning to see things differently. My brain, my optic nerve and the big wide world all have to get to know each other and that will take a while. But hopefully soon I'll be able to see shapes!

I'll be six months old on the 7 October and so far I think that life is very interesting. It's full of happy things, and unexpected things, and tough things to make me wise and strong.

Mom is running a 90 Word Short Story Competition for her boys at school. Here's a story she wrote about me:

Once upon a time there was a brave little man who set out on a journey to meet the King. The little man couldn’t see. Even though he lived in a shadow world of mingled blurs, he had a laughing, mighty heart and wherever he went he left behind him precious brightness. He journeyed up and down hills, across streams. His fingertips could see beauty; he could smell colour and hear smiles. His adventure was rich and anointed, not least because in fact the King journeyed with him, every step.