Joyah turned 2 years old!

Well, I'm a little behind with the blog.  The following is the latest article written for our church newsletter.  Joyah began wearing glasses a week and a half ago and loves them!  It is obvious that they help her out a lot!  However, a day after she started wearing glasses, we also had to start "patching" her good eye (right eye)  in order to hopefully maintain or increase vision in her left eye.  She has a pretty severe optic nerve issue and has little to no vision in the left eye at this time.  "Patching" has proven to be very frustrating for her.  She doesn't try to remove the patch but the first 3 days she refused to open the unpatched eye to play or walk. On the 4th day she began to open her eye but it is still quite obvious that she is only seeing enough to avoid running into walls at this time.  It is quite sad and she cries a lot.  She has to feel for her food and her toys and is currently unable to see them.  We pray that with time this will improve and that in a couple of weeks we may be able to "patch" her for less than the required 6 hours per day.

"Joyah turns 2 years old!"

As of October 2^nd, Joyah has officially been home from China for 6 months!  It’s amazing how quickly that time has passed but her accomplishments over that time are equally amazing.  When we first arrived home, Joyah was barely crawling and only on particular surfaces and she was still drinking from a bottle with help.  She is now walking, trying to talk, drinking from straws and not scared of the things that used to terrify her (such as animals).  She has truly switched from the infant stage (even at 18 months) to the toddler stage during these 6 months. 

            Over the course of these 6 months it has been apparent that Joyah was experiencing vision issues.  The depths of these issues are still not completely known but two vision exams by experts this week have determined much of them.   Joyah will be receiving glasses within the month for extreme acuity differences and deficits.  Her left eye is nearly blind and has an unhealthy optic nerve.  Her right eye is very weak but is her strong eye.  The glasses should help her acuity immensely.  Joyah will also need to be “patched” on the right eye everyday in order to make her left eye stronger and maintain vision.  If her brain isn’t forced to use her left eye, she may lose sight in that eye.  Our boys will certainly enjoy playing “pirate” with her.  Joyah will likely receive an eye muscle surgery to correct some further difficulties with her vision in a couple of years.

            Joyah turned 2 years old on October 13!  It was fun experiencing her very first birthday party along with family.  She really enjoyed her “Hello Kitty” party and liked the clothes, shoes and purse she received a lot!  Joyah is nothing like her “Momma”, as I could care less about most of those things.  I believe she will be a girly girl.  It was a very special time for the whole family and different to see all the “Pink” around.  God is good and we are so thankful for all the gifts he has given to our family through Joyah.