The Prevent Blindness North Carolina Preschool Vision Screening team strives to ensure that our program makes a positive impact on the lives of thousands of preschoolers each year. We love to have the chance to share our many success stories. We are excited to introduce you to a very special preschooler who now has the ability to clearly see the world around him thanks to participating in our vision screening at his preschool. Meet Noah-our new PBNC Ambassador!
Noah participated in the vision screening when he was 3 years old. Much to his family’s surprise, Noah failed the screening due to possible visual impairment. As a result, we recommended that he be examined by an eye doctor for diagnosis and possible treatment. His visit to the eye doctor did indeed result in a diagnosis of amblyopia of his left eye and anisometropia, requiring glasses full time. Amblyopia, also called lazy eye, is a type of poor vision that happens in one eye. It develops when there is a breakdown in how the brain and the eye work together, and the brain can’t recognize the sight from the affected eye. Over time, the brain relies more and more on the stronger eye, while vision in the weaker eye gets worse. Fortunately, Noah’s amblyopia was found early, as the earlier you can treat amblyopia, the better.
Noah is doing great with his glasses and will continue to be monitored for possible patching of the weak eye. During a recent conversation, Noah’s mom shared, “We had no idea Noah was having trouble with his vision. I can’t thank you enough for providing this service and finding his problem early. If not for your screening, we would very likely be in a much different place with the status of his vision.” His family has taken his newfound vision problem very seriously and has also made many efforts to ensure that Noah is very comfortable and secure in his glasses. Noah’s mom bought children’s books about wearing glasses and going to the eye doctor for his teacher to read to his class so that they would be kind and accepting of Noah as he began the journey of wearing glasses at a young, tender age. We are so excited for Noah and his family to join our team and help us share our mission to save sight across NC.
So stay tuned, you will be seeing much more of Noah over the next year!