{The little man of the house...}

When Kyler was about 9 months old the pediatrician noticed that there was something going on with his eyes. Most newborns do kind of weird things with their eyes at first, so I wasn't too concerned.By nine months though it should have corrected itself and hadn't and in fact had gotten worse. I agreed with the pediatrician that seeing a doc in Salt Lake would be a good idea. After lots of tests a few trips back to Salt Lake we had an uneasy feeling about what was happening there. The doctors haven't been able to pinpoint an exact diagnosis for Kyler's eye syndrome. There are quite a few that he suspects and all have a differnt course of treatment. Most of which should be started by age two.Because his vision is pooe and his depth perception isn't very good, he cannot walk. In September, right before his first birthday he couldn't even crawl. We attend physical and occupational therapy weekly to help Kyler develop the skills like eating with a fork, crawling, walking, and climbing. After our last trip to Salt Lake in November I talked with Kyler's pediatrician and we decided that we would travel to another hospital to get a second opinion. We decided that if we were making a trip, we might as well make it to a very good eye center. The pediatrician located the top ten pediatric eye centers in the nation and we chose the University of Iowa hospitals and clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. It comes very highly recommended and wasn't clear across the country. So, Josh, Kyler, and I are headed to Iowa on Valentines day. Hopefuly we will be able to get some very much needed answers for Kyler so that we can find a treatment to help him. It has been a bit of a challenge for me to watch him struggle through therapy as he tries to do things that I take for granted each day. I also learn from him as he does those hard things week after week and still goes back again the next week and tries all over again. The therapists that work with him are amazing, patient people. They continuously think of new ways to help him with his walking and love to play and joke with him. They have done very well taking something that they haven't worked with much and learning as much about his situation as possible in order to better help him. Most of all I am so greatful for Kyler's mild temperment and good attitude. He never seems to let this get in his way. He finds new ways to do things and never quits. Very seldom will you see Kyler without a smile on his face. I am thankful every day for this little boy that I was given to care for. I just have to continually reemind myself that we aren't given any obstacles or challenges that we can't handle and just take it one day at a time. So, wish me luck on an airplane with a 16 month old that can't sit still and isn't old enough to watch movies on an airplane for 3 1/2 hrs......