Two kinds of blindness

I went away on a ladies’ retreat this past weekend, so Murray and Cam stayed home together and talked about ‘guy stuff’… and ate Marie biscuits in bed… which doesn’t generally happen if I’m at home :). Cam also spent an afternoon with his cousins (the naked photo).

Last week I read some commentary on Matthew 20-21, by Graeme Gilmour. He writes the following:

Here we have two kinds of blindness. The two men on the outskirts of Jericho were physically blind (as were those who came to Jesus in the temple). But these two men seem to have had much clearer insight into who Jesus really was than the sighted ones around them. On the basis of what they must have heard about Jesus, they ‘saw’ who he really was – the Messiah (hence their use of the Messianic title, ‘Son of David’). As those who knew their own neediness, they simply cast themselves on the mercy of Jesus, and found that his grace met their deep need. They also ‘saw’ that the appropriate response to Jesus’ grace was to follow him (v34).

The chief priests and teachers of the law had no trouble physically seeing the wonderful things Jesus did in healing the blind and lame in the temple (21:14-15), but they suffered from a much more damaging blindness than had those whom Jesus had healed. They couldn’t see that Jesus was God-in-action-on-earth, despite the overwhelming evidence before their very eyes. What had blinded them – self-interest, prejudice, theological blinkers?

Closer to God © SU 2009

God is good

Praise for good news!

Cam had a routine EUA yesterday (his 13th general anaesthetic…) and his eyes look great: healthy and clear. The pressure in both his eyes is fine, too (approx. 15). His left eye has grown ever so slightly, and his contact lens prescription for that eye has changed a little.

He has graduated, in the kiddies’ ward at the Pretoria Eye Institute, from cot to bed, and from wearing his own kit to wearing smart green hospital pyjamas, almost the same as what his Dad and Uncle Jacobus wear, though he doesn’t get the weird headgear. He is also now old enough to know a little more of what’s going on, and he was not a happy camper when I left him at the doors of the theatre!

Debut!

BREAKING NEWS:

City toddler, Cameron Reyburn, gave his dazzling debut stage performance at a theatre in Pretoria East on Saturday 17th October.

The theatre group Heavenly Babies and Tots, which has not yet quit its day job as a nursery and pre-school in the eastern suburbs of Pretoria, staged the hit musical Soccer 2010 on the weekend. Reyburn (18 months) stole the show with his charmingly nonplussed I-don’t-really-know-what’s-going-on smile, and his unique foot-stamping, arm-waving interpretation of the compositions. Reyburn took on the role of a Jamaican soccer icon. Ironically, his act opened with the song I can see clearly now, followed by a Jamaican dance which he completed with palpable flair, the result of months of rigorous rehearsals. The other children were quite good too.

A crush of adoring fans – mostly close relatives – thronged to greet Reyburn as he exited backstage. Reporters clamoured to get a brief post-performance response from the actor. Though a little tearful after an arduous show, he seemed to be taking it all in his stride and nonchalantly announced to the public, ‘Da da da!’ which suggests that the young artist may have philosophical affiliations with early twentieth century modernist Dadaism.

Reyburn’s mother, Dalene (32), says she is ‘never one to brag’ but is simply pleased that the world has recognized her son’s evident genius. Reyburn’s father, Murray (30), was unable to be at the performance, but was deeply moved by the accounts of his son’s concert, saying ‘Upon hearing his first cry in the delivery room, I knew that Cameron was destined for stardom. Today Pretoria; tomorrow Broadway.’

Reyburn’s theatrical pursuits are briefly on hold, after the glittering weekend musical event, as he will be in a theatre of a different kind on Monday afternoon, undergoing an examination under anaesthetic at the Pretoria Eye Institute.

Watch the press for more news of this up-and-coming celebrity.

OT assessment

Cam is just loving the summer weather, and anything to do with water, splashing, kicking, throwing, etc. The fussy little man is also suddenly eating fruit - yay! The other photos are of Cam looking at his visual therapy powerpoint presentation that my Mom put together for him (stars, bouncing balls, buzzing bees, spotty dotty ladbugs, etc that he can follow on the screen - amazing! Email me if you want a copy: dalene.reyburn@gmail.com); Cam and Granny in the gardens at Prinshof this morning; and his OT session.

This morning he went for an occupational therapy assessment at Prinshof School (http://www.prinshof.co.za/ ). He was assessed by Elsa, an OT who works with blind and VI children everyday. Once we removed some of the balls from the room, Cam was able to focus… For parents of blind and VI kids, I’m copying below the notes we made at the session. The simplest and most practical advice was Elsa’s ‘I CAN SEE’ mnemonic – illumination, contrast and size. (I’ve made it ‘I CAN SEE PERFECTLY’, and the P is for prayer.)

Notes:

Need to work on Cam's recognition of detail

NB to develop near vision now – for academic work later. Introducing contact lenses for far vision / glasses for near vision, now, not necessarily a good idea – too distracting for the brain (e.g. like introducing a magnifier to a child still learning letters and sentence structure). Needs to develop further his detail recognition (close)

Social development fine

Gross motor fine

Still just loves balls…

Ok with the pegs in holes – interested but not too good at this. Did better with putting shapes in wooden puzzle

Keep practising peripheral vision

Books – keep it simple – one image on a page as opposed to a scene with a tree, house, bus, etc – he won’t be able to distinguish things

I CAN SEE – illumination / contrast / size

Illumination: natural lighting best (daylight). Don’t have a light behind him or over his shoulder – head casts a shadow. Light should come from side or front. Desk lamp not a good idea – too much glare.
Contrast: Yellow and white are not good colours for background (table) – use a light-absorbent colour like black, dark red, etc. otherwise the yellow, particularly, distracts him from what you’re trying to get him to see. Good contrasts to use: yellow on black, etc. Could use black pen on yellow paper.
Size: bigger not always better. He has a field defect because one eye is weaker than the other so if object is too big he can’t see the whole. Rather use a smaller object with thick black around it. Good font to use: Arial Black

One and a half!

Can’t believe our little man is already 18 months old. Time flies when you’re having fun…!

Things to be grateful for this week:

We found out that Cameron is allergic to egg white and peanuts. Good to know! Perhaps now his frequently snotty nose will become less so…!

On Tuesday afternoon Cam was just out of sorts and I couldn’t settle him. (Probably because I was just out of sorts and couldn’t settle myself.) I phoned my Mom and she came straight away. And he was better. Grannies are just the best.

Someone once said that working mothers are guinea pigs in a scientific experiment to show that sleep is not necessary to human life. I’m so grateful for the prayers of the saints and the sustaining grace and mercy of God, rained upon me each night and fresh as dew each morning.

I delight in Cam’s innocence, and his excitement over the tiniest things... He is my constant reminder of what it’s really all about, my priority barometer, my little bringer-of-perspective. Here are some cool thoughts on what it means to be a child:

He said to them, ‘Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.’ – Mark 10:14-15

One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. - Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, 1943

Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. - Robert Fulghum

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead; his eyes are closed. - Albert Einstein

Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do. - Jean de la Bruyere

I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things.... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. - Leo Buscaglia

And a sobering one…:

We're the generation; we can't afford to wait. The future started yesterday and we're already late. - John Legend