Saturday, September 12, 2009

A Blind Insight

Photo by Jenny Winkel


On Friday afternoon, I pulled out out of the parking lot after a visit with a pediatric ophthalmologist. One look in the rear view mirror showed a snapshot of my beautiful son, slouched over in the back seat. His left eye was covered up with a sticky patch while his right eye strained to see out of his new glasses.

"It's a real shame this wasn't taken care of earlier," the doctor reprimanded me. "Your son is legally blind in his right eye and if you don't keep his left eye patched up all day, every day for at least the next six months, he's going to hate you by the time he's twenty."

Don't you love it when people use guilt as a motivational tool? As if learning that my child was nearly blind in one eye didn't make me want to cry a river already.

Jackson didn't feel much like going back to school, so we ran a few errands at a strip mall, one of which was a haircut to get his shaggy skater boy hair out of his already strained eye. Another real bummer. We both loved his long hair. He was so worried; worried about being made fun of, about looking stupid, and about the notion of being blind if he didn't follow doctor's orders. As we drove away from Fantastic Sam's I tried to be positive.

"You know, I saw a story on TV about a little boy who was born with no legs, but now he runs races with special prosthetic legs. He had such a great attitude about it too. At least it's just your eye and it's going to get a lot better!"

(Don't you love it when people use guilt as a motivational tool?) Just then, I turned a corner and came to a stop as a blind man stepped out in front of our car to cross the street. No joke. With dark glasses and walking stick extended, he gracefully guided himself to the other side. Jackson's jaw dropped.

"Mom! No way! That was not a coincidence. Heavenly Father just did that for me!"

I was just as surprised by my son's immediate ability to point out the hand of God in his life as I was to see the blind man crossing the street at such an opportune moment. Unreal.

After we arrived home, Jackson was tired from the long morning at the doctor's. He nestled into the leather sofa and turned on his favorite cartoon, "Arthur." The title of this particular episode? "Arthur's Eyes." The cartoon started out blurry, giving the viewer a sense of how Arthur saw the world before he learned he needed glasses. He was clumsy, had a hard time with his friends and in his class room -- all of the same things my son has been dealing with at school. Thirty seconds into the show, Jackson slowly turned his head to me and said, "Ok. This is weird. Now I know Heavenly Father is REALLY doing this for me!"

For the rest of the day, I could not shake from my mind, the way in which God enabled my son to see spiritual truths through physical blindness.

"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God may be manifest in him." John 9:1-3

20 comments:

  1. Tell Jackson we love him!! I have been thinking a lot about him lately....especially since your post about his teacher's remarks about his abilities. I had similar comments by my teachers when I was that age....and you know ...it only hurt my confidence, it did not "change" my personality!!! I just love his creativity and I'm cheerleading for him!

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  2. Mindy, Jackson looks adorable and I'm glad he's getting help for his eyes. That is great. Aaron seemed interested in his glasses and patch, but PLEASE tell me if he ever says anything to make fun. I hope he doesn't. Also, I have a friend who manufactures patches that slip over one side of kids' glasses. Maybe that's something Jackson would like instead of being taped up. Let's talk.

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  3. Does Jackskon have amblyopia? One of my best friends has 2 children with bilateral ambylopia and her youngest is legally blind in both eyes. Both of her children actually wear specially designed contacts now. If you need any help with doctors I can get you the name of her doctor here in Utah, and also a top pediatric opthamologist in Minnesota. My email is stephanieboydmusic {at} gmail.com. Good luck and God Bless!

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  4. What a beautiful post, Mindy.

    I think I am very familiar with the pediatric opthalmologist of whom you speak... and he is always like that. Everyone tells me he is the best around, he just needs to work on his bedside manner. My 13-year-old daughter has seen him since she was 2 and he hasn't changed. I make my husband go to her appointments a lot of the time because Dr.-Guilt-Trip just makes me cry. But the good news is: he has done some AMAZING things for her over the years.

    Best of luck with this new adventure!

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  5. Beautiful post Mindy! It's neat that Jackson can see God's hand in his life- I am sure he learned that from the example of his parents! Good job!

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  6. I am so happy that you were able to find out why he was struggling in school. Good luck! (I'm a friend of Jeremy Baron).

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  7. This was really lovely, and just what I needed to read. I'm new to your blog and it's quickly becoming one of my favorites!

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  8. So glad your sweet boy has a loving Mother, helping him to recognize his Father in Heaven also. He will clearly be fine!

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  9. Mindy, I am so glad that Jackson is getting some help... how awful to not be able to see at school. I bet that is part of his problem with paying attention. I was born cross-eyed and had to wear a patch for nearly a year before I was able to have surgery, and now as an adult I still have a lazy eye... anyway, I am always ordering books for my classroom and came across the cutest book one day called "The Patch" by Justina Chen Headley - the main character is a girl, but it's all about how she copes with going to school while wearing a patch... there's also some websites that sell custom patches that are super cute (or stylish, I suppose, for a boy!) you can just google them I'm sure...

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  10. I love you people. Your suggestions and support is so valuable to me. I wish I could individually thank you and give you a squeeze. Seriously, thank you so much for your comments. (And yes, Stephers, Jackson has amblyopia. Gerb, I'm embarrassed that you know who I am referring to. Krystal, we must get that book. Thx!)

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  11. Mindy - I ordered the book from amazon.com, but you can probably find it locally... it's super cute!

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  12. This post brought tears to my eyes. God is so wonderful! I am so glad that answers are coming for you!

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  13. what a truly beautiful experience mindy.. honestly. you've got to love God's tender mercies! and we love jackson and his new pirate patch (that's what andrew calls it, and he says 'ARRRGG' everytime he sees him) he's such a good boy. (:

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  14. There are so many reasons to make lemonade here. When I was in third grade I was sent to the ophthalmologist through school screening. Yeah, my mom didn't know I was legally blind, either. I'm a big-year-old now and I still love my very caring mother. So there. I can tell from your writing that you are a VERY loving and caring mother. And all this at a very young age (TWENTY?? Did you say TWENTY when you had Jackson? Mercy). Anyway, I remember as if it were yesterday the glory of SEEING. I knew no different from what images the world had given me up to that point. The chalk on the chalkboard was so precise! And crystal clear. The leaves on the trees...glorious! The words on the pages of my books were so easy to read!

    The lemonade is poured thusly: A) What an amazing gift Jackson now has of seeing the world in a completely different, clear way. This is all new to him! How exciting for him! B) God has given us modern technology to allow him to see the world as it truly is. Poor eyesight is often so fixable. C) Perhaps being able to clearly see the world will positively affect the other concerns you've had about his learning. It's really hard to learn when you can't see. Who knows? Could be... And D) The magnificence of modern technology continues to evolve, and one day, Jackson may see beautifully, unaided by glasses or lenses, but "cured" through surgery. I have had LASIK surgery, and I swear to you, I feel like I've been resurrected.

    I'm not a doctor. I don't even play one on TV (okay, I'm probably the only one who gets that old, old reference). What the heck do I know about eyes. But I do know this: there is every reason to hope that Jackson will be helped by all our Father in Heaven has given us through modern technology.

    I also know this: You are a great mother. Your love for your boys is so evident that it consistently leaps out at us through your words. You're doing an amazing job with all you have going right now. Which is, holy cow, a lot. Mom, wife, school, writing music, recording music, doing firesides, girls camps, visiting ailing friends, writing a blog that inspires others, and on and on and on. And that's all *I* know. And I don't even know you. :)

    LEMONADE!!

    --Lori

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  15. thanks, mindy! what a unique day! and what a cool boy you have.=)

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  16. That was beautiful. What a sweet son you have. Thank you for your examples.

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  17. Mindy, (this is Fauneil, even though I might be logged in as Luhi) That was a beautiful post. What a comfort for you and Jackson. That scripture was written for you. Now you know what you need to do and you're doing it. Don't feel guilty, or play "What if." Just work on the present and the future. You're doing great and Jackson will be just fine.

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  18. The exact same thing with my son when he was 6. He is now 24 with 20/30 vision in BOTH eyes all because of the patch AND PRAYER...It works, I promise!! Love to you both!

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  19. What a wonderful example of tender mercies! Thanks for the inspirational message!

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  20. Wow. That's quite the story. It is a compliment to you that your little boy can recognize the hand of God so quickly.

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