Vision Update

Although we've reported previously that Evelyn's eyes are ok and were not damaged by cCMV, her brain is having a hard time processing images due to the involvement of CMV with her central nervous system - this is called Cortical Vision Impairment (or CVI). We've learned that vision is not a single sense, but rather a combination of complex senses - almost the entire brain is involved in the process of seeing. Unfortunately for Evie, her visual centers are impaired.

We've been aware of this diagnosis for a little while, and unfortunately there isn't an instant treatment or surgery option to help improve the transmission or cognition of these images, so we've been instructed to "wait and see" and simply hope this improves over time.

Because John and I are not ones to just sit around and wait, we've been seeing a pediatric opthalmologist for a routine eye exam every 3 months. Because Evie can't communicate to tell us exactly what she is seeing and to what degree, we're simply evaluating her eyes and any visible reaction she may/may not be experiencing. This past visit with a new doc out in Denver, we heard some 'new' news. Evie has astigmatism in both eyes, which is extremely common and yet unrelated to CMV. Astigmatism is a refractive error, meaning it is a problem with how the eye focuses light, causing blurred or distorted vision to some degree at all distances. 

With that, we've decided to pursue glasses with the hope that Evie may gain some visual clarity. And damn, she looks cute in them.

In addition to her new glasses, we're going to attend a functional vision assessment in early November at the Anchor Center for the Blind here in Denver, as they help to maximize a child's vision as well as optimize their use of all senses. They offer specialists who are certified in dealing with children with multiple sensory issues (i.e. sensironeural hearing loss + CVI) and we're hopeful that this will be another added benefit to helping Evie long-term.

This babe is such a fighter!