There have been a lot of changes for Afeefa since I last posted. We are all VERY happy that she no longer has to sleep in the carseat and can now enjoy sleeping in the crib again. She is allowed to lay and roll around on the floor, and also does not have to wear patches anymore! Wonderful steps in the right directions!
On Monday of this week, Afeefa had an appointment in Detroit with a new eye doctor and two therapists. She was tested and fitted for glasses, which we will be getting next week. It was quite an amazing day for a lot of reasons. First, I couldn't find anyone to ride with me, so I decided to let Rebecca miss a day of school to come along. It was such a blessing to spend the day with her, and I know we both learned a lot about the miracle of sight---how intricately God has created the human eye, and also, that without the nerves to the brain, rods and cones all working, they eye can't do anything. We watched in amazement as Afeefa was tested; she responds to red and yellow lights, she is able to see black and white lines, and reached for lights and a light-up ball. Through the testing they did, the doctor was able to make a sort-of map of Afeefa's field of vision for each eye. They were all amazed, given her age and the fact that her retinopathy was stage 5, at how large her field of vision is. Dr. Ferens was very excited about her visual responses during the exam, and also about her potential for sight. We learned that the vision therapy is absolutely crucial to Afeefa's being able to really see. She will need to spend 2 hours a day for the next couple of years at least, to do therapy which will stimulate the brain in such a way that it learns to process all of the new visual input she is receiving. I left there feeling very overwhelmed by all of the information that was shared, the books that they gave me to read, and at the thought of how I will fit 2 more hours into my days. As I was praying about it yesterday, though, God reassured me that He doesn't call us to do things that He doesn't intend to equip us to do---so I'm trusting Him to enable me to do this. And, I'm trusting that He'll provide the best possible way for Afeefa's mom to learn all of the techniques she will need to continue this when Afeefa goes home. Today as I worked with Afeefa, I was just amazed that she is actually able to see at all---what a gift, and what a miracle! She very excitedly reached for the red lights I was using with her today, which is so cool to see! Her left eye is definitely her stronger eye, and she would really prefer to not have to do the exercises with the right one. But, hopefully, as she gets used to it, her right eye will get stronger and she'll not fight so much when I work with that eye.
A friend of ours was over yesterday who hadn't seen Afeefa since she first came here. He could hardly believe that she was the same child who had her eyes closed all the time and her head down. She is now sitting up and playing a lot, with her head up and her eyes wide opened and looking around the room. When she's not sitting, she's either rolling around the room or trying to crawl---I think she'll be crawling very soon. She laughs a lot, babbles a lot, and occassionally, she says "All done" after her eye drops. In one of the books I was reading from the doctor about children with retinopathy of prematurity, it described the developmental stages of these children in comparison to sighted children (did you know that babies learn 80% of what they learn through their sense of sight?). Typically, children like Afeefa experience a lot of prolonged delays. Afeefa, too, is somewhat delayed in some areas, but the therapist told me that she honestly couldn't believe how minimal her delays are compared to other children she has worked with over the course of her 30-year career. She was so hopeful and encouraging about all of the things that Afeefa will one day be able to do if she gets the proper care and therapy now and when she goes home. So, we will do our best while she's here, to hopefully give her a good start on this journey of seeing.
(Here are some pictures of Afeefa so you can see her wonderful progress. She's trying to crawl in the last one, and enjoying the ability to sit alone in the others).
