this little man is such blessing, and a walking miracle if you ask me.
almost 18 months ago, we were trying to come to terms with the fact that our baby might have terrible vision. that was the easy part of the unknown. we were told there's a chance he could have something called optic nerve hypoplasia, a neurological disorder which could equate to mild to severe disabilities. his optic nerves were almost non-existent, they were so small. this possible onh diagnosis was on top of the infantile nystagmus and fovea hypoplasia diagnosis we had already received. our heads were spinning.
i started noticing around two and a half months that elias wasn't making eye contact with me, or anyone. he looked as though he was looking around, but he never ever locked eyes with you. and then i noticed the bouncing. his eyes would bounce rapidly back and forth, almost all the time. it was scary and i had that sinking feeling in my mommy gut telling me this probably wasn't good.
i will never forget when he saw his first pediatric ophthalmologist at only 3 months old. it was just me at the appointment, and when the nurse/assistant/tech/whatever that person is called came in and started doing tests on him, i knew he was failing every single one of them. bright flashing lights being moved in front of his face, to the side, up and down......and nothing. i saw the guy write the words "fail to..." and "very poor..." on elias' charts. that was a terrible, terrible feeling. the doctor came in and did all the same tests and looked far into the backs of his eyes and that's when she told me the news. she said we would need to do an mri to see if his brain is normal. she apologized that this was how things were looking.
oh my gosh. now don't get me wrong, things can always be SO much worse and i'm aware that this wasn't a life-threatening diagnosis. but for a second i could get a glimpse of how parents who are dealing with something so awful felt. a tiny glimpse, a taste of it. a taste i hope to never experience again. makes my heart ache to think about parents of small children with cancer or other terminal illnesses or crippling disabilities. i felt instant guilt. guilt over the fact that jon got his boy, who he's been so excited to teach sports to and how to drive a car/quad/truck/etc. now it seemed as though none of those things were in his future. guilt over the comments kids were gonna make. but the one that kept playing in my mind was the day he comes to me crying and says, "mommy why am i so different than other kids? why can't i play sports or read a book or do a puzzle?"
what's really scary and crazy, looking back now, is that they even got us in touch with a woman who would come to our home and basically teach us how to have a blind or mentally handicapped child. that's where we thought this was going.
we did all we knew how to do, and that was pray. and it wasn't just jon and i praying. it was every single family member. and our closest friends. and their prayer groups. and their churches. so many people praying for this baby they had never even met.
and praise GOD, his mri came back normal. we couldn't believe it. the PO was even surprised.
within a few weeks, that sweet baby boy who always seemed to be looking in my direction while i nursed him, locked on to my eyes. i thought i was dreaming. he locked on and he smiled. he smiled, i bawled. and then i started recording it with my phone camera, because i couldn't believe it was real. a moment i will cherish for the rest of my life.
and that was just the beginning.
fast forward a few months. we started seeing a retina specialist and a new pediatric opthamologist at the shiley eye care center in san diego, one of the best eye centers in the country. over the few months between the mri and doctors appointments, he was improving by leaps and bounds.
at his 10 month appointment, he somehow even managed to make it onto the normal curve for vision for his age! the very very very very bottom, but hey, he was on there! the doctor said that we will continue to test him, and see if he just plateaus there, meaning his peers will continue to improve their vision and he wont, or if he will continually climb the charts. his nystagmus was still present but seemed to be getting a little less dramatic. his fovea hypoplasia was no longer, the retina specialist said he could now see pigment. and though his optic nerves were still very small, onh was off the table and he was developing right on track physically and mentally.
what a sigh of relief.
well today was the next appointment. this miracle baby was smack dab in the middle of the growth chart. the middle! un-freaking-believable. the doctor came in and she was sooooo excited. not only that, but she said his nystagmus has improved greatly (which it has, his eyes hardly ever bounce anymore, and if they do it is super mild. most people don't even notice it.) to the point that he shouldn't need surgery to correct his null point. she even told me that as it stands right now, he might not even need glasses. um WHAT?!?! my child? who was basically blind less than 18 months ago? no glasses?
so i said, what next? she says.....nothing. congratulations!
we will now only be going once a year to just get a checkup and see how he continues to develop visually.
the power of prayer, people. this is how i know there is a god. thank you jesus!
Used my ART skin care system to wash, tone and moisturize my face (which ended up being slightly pointless and you'll see why in a second). 
This is another must have. Thieves Household Cleaner. You can use it on everything! I wiped down my kitchen before I made dinner and then again after. I also love the Fruit & Veggie Wash and Thieves Hand Soap to have readily available in the kitchen. 
After dinner the whole family went outside to enjoy the amazing temps and an ice cold Blue Moon with Orange oil (Popsicles for the kids lol). Yummmm.
Put the kiddos to bed. This is my go-to combo for Makena's room since she has night terrors. I usually include original Peace & Calming but I just ran out :( Jon and I enjoyed a movie and headed to bed. 
My bedtime diffuser combo always changes. This was on the menu last night.
Lastly I took my Life 5 probiotic and hit the hay!! And there you have it! 
