So worried about my Sons eyesight.

lindos90

Nicki wrote: »

If you are near London have you thought about having him seen at Moorfields? Even if you aren't they do have an A and E advice line for parents worried about their children's sight.

Thanks but we live in 'the north'. Hes back at the hospital in a couple of days, so I'll try and ask more questions this time.

He may be missing school now, but he's filling his time listening to books on CDs, and I taught him how to iron his own school shirt today:T, he's getting very bored, but the Doctor said no school as it was not a steady environment (risk of getting pushed or tripping over which could strt the bleed again) Its a shame as hes not 'feeling ill' and has never had any time off school before.

Im waiting for school to get back to me about the incident and about providing work at home so he doesnt get behind.

Rikki

lindos90 wrote: »

Oh I hope so! It took me till I was about 40 to give my mum hugs abd kisses:o. (Must have done it when I was younger). My husband lost both his parents within a year and I realised that one day my mum would not be there to hug, so I started doing it! (think she gets more embarrased than me now!)

It's funny how things like that happen. I never used to hug my parents. When my Dad died I hug my Mum every time I say goodbye. It came to me one day she has no-one to hug her any more.

My youngest is 15 and he hugs, meet and greet. You have to adapt the hug to suit the child.

You could sneak up on your sons blind side and catch him unwares with a hug. :cool:

debsy42

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust offers a telephone helpline run by specially trained nurses to deal with ophthalmic related queries and problems. If you would like to speak to one of the nurses, please call Moorfields Direct on 020 7566 2345. This service is available 9am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.


I would give Moorfields a call on the number above just to see if they can offer any advice/guidance further to what you have been told already. They are one of the worlds leading eye hospitals so may be be able to offer more specialist advice and reassure you.

Savvy_Sue

Moorfields should also be able to tell you where your nearest dedicated eye hospital is ...

bluenoseam

You sure it was only a table tennis ball - even at full pelt you'd have to go some to generate enough force to avoid the natural reaction, other than that it could have been up close, were they supervised at the time?

Makes me feel very lucky that while i've played badminton for years to a decent standard, i've never been hit in the face with a shuttle - probably the only place i haven't been hit, who knew that a bit of cork could double you up like that!

Stressed_mum_2

My youngest daughter was hit in the eye nearly 3 years ago with a golf club while on a coaching course. The Club also took a very laid back approach to contacting me, but when i saw her eye I took her up to the local A&E immediately. Like your son, the eye had totally filled with blood and she couldn't see. The hospital reacted very quickly and she was transferred by blue light ambulance to another hospital with a specialised eye clinic. My DD was 9 at the time and was kept in hospital for a couple of days, had complete bed rest, not allowed to read or play on the nintendo and had an array of drops put in every 2 hours night and day. She attended the eye clinic regularly, and still attends every 6 months or so. I also take her to the optician every year.

Almost 3 years later and she has one eye that is more dilated than the other, still gets sharp pains periodically, and the vision in one eye is significantly poorer. But I know it could have been so much worse. She still has her sight, and if she had been hit in her temple I could be looking at a totally different scenario.

I really feel for you and what you are going through. It is such a worrying time. At the beginning her eyesight was significantly affected, but each time she was at the clinic it improved slightly. It seems to have stabilised now and glasses correct the worst of the visual impairment. She already wore glasses so her prescription in the injured eye is now much stronger, but she has even started to wear contact lenses and both her optician and consultant are happy with how she has healed.

I have, however, been warned to watch out for a detached retina which can happen after an eye injury, even years after the accident.

I hope your son makes a full recovery and has no lasting aversions to table tennis - my DD hasn't picked up her golf clubs since!

lindos90

bluenoseam wrote: »

You sure it was only a table tennis ball were they supervised at the time?

Yep, definatley a table tennis ball. Its an after school club and a few of them (not my lad) decided it would be fun to see how hard they could hit table tennis balls around the gym (using their badminton rackets) This was between the end of school and the teacher arriving, so no there was no supervision at the time.

Unfortunatley my son was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and got it straight in the eye from close range, (I think thats why it injured him so much, as there was no time for him to blink!)

He says its quite usual for them to start to play before the teacher gets there, as some of them bring their own rackets and shuttlecocks. Not sure if the table tennis balls were brought into school by one of the kids, or were left out from a PE session.

I have discussed this with school and suggested that the teacher tells the kids not to start without him, I also asked if an incident report has ben done, but they are very reluctant to discuss anything with me.

Nicki

You are entitled to see the entry in the accident book if you ask, and also any incident report, which might after all be necessary for medical treatment purposes. My DD has recently started to suffer from seizures and the school had no problem at all in providing me with copies of the incident reports of each of these to go on her hospital file. One of the school governors will have responsibility for Health and Safety issues (its a statutory role) so if you aren't happy that the school are handling it as they should you could ask for the matter to be referred to them.

lindos90

Stressed_mum wrote: »

My youngest daughter was hit in the eye nearly 3 years ago with a golf club while on a coaching course. The Club also took a very laid back approach to contacting me, but when i saw her eye I took her up to the local A&E immediately. Like your son, the eye had totally filled with blood and she couldn't see. The hospital reacted very quickly and she was transferred by blue light ambulance to another hospital with a specialised eye clinic. My DD was 9 at the time and was kept in hospital for a couple of days, had complete bed rest, not allowed to read or play on the nintendo and had an array of drops put in every 2 hours night and day. She attended the eye clinic regularly, and still attends every 6 months or so. I also take her to the optician every year.

Almost 3 years later and she has one eye that is more dilated than the other, still gets sharp pains periodically, and the vision in one eye is significantly poorer. But I know it could have been so much worse. She still has her sight, and if she had been hit in her temple I could be looking at a totally different scenario.

I really feel for you and what you are going through. It is such a worrying time. At the beginning her eyesight was significantly affected, but each time she was at the clinic it improved slightly. It seems to have stabilised now and glasses correct the worst of the visual impairment. She already wore glasses so her prescription in the injured eye is now much stronger, but she has even started to wear contact lenses and both her optician and consultant are happy with how she has healed.

I have, however, been warned to watch out for a detached retina which can happen after an eye injury, even years after the accident.

I hope your son makes a full recovery and has no lasting aversions to table tennis - my DD hasn't picked up her golf clubs since!

What you describe sounds very similar to whats happening here, but im sure a golf ball must have been more serious, good grief they are so hard and heavy compaired to a table tennis ball!

I will not discourage him from continuing with Badminton, its one of the only sports he really enjoys. (hes not a typical football lad) His main concern was that the other boy didnt get into trouble for it, as he didnt do it on purpose. Its just an unfortunate set of incidences really.

lindens

Poor thing, he must be so bored and you're so worried, you must need cheering up

Has he got access to an ipod?are there any podcasts related to schoolwork you could get ie shakespeare or english related?